Love at Hogwarts
by White Rose Willow
Summary: Lauren and Sirius are best friends, people always tell her how attractive and charming he is but, as his best friend, she can't see it. Until, she realizes that her feelings are more than friendly. As the girls call him 'the hottest guy in Hogwarts' Lauren figures she has no chance and decides to get over the crush. Will Sirius be able to confess his love before it's too late?


CHAPTER 1: A HEATED CONVERSATION

"I don't know why you dress like that! You might as well be another boy!" Lauren's mum exclaimed, examining her clothes. "Good! I want to be a boy! Maybe I won't be constantly judged by you on my clothes!" Lauren shot back, her chestnut hair flicked over her shoulders, her teal eyes were wide with fury, her fists were clenched and crimson was creeping up her cheeks. Everyone always said they looked similar, her mother's long, tawny hair was flowing down her back, her cobolt eyes were as wide as Lauren's and her cheeks were glowing crimson. "You're going out with your friends for merlin's sake, at least try and look like you've made an effort!" Mrs. Colt shot back, eyeing her daughters clothes once more. Lauren was wearing skinny jeans, her light-blue chudley cannons top, a navy blue hoodie and her converses, this was a constant argument between them. Her mum was always telling her to act more lady-like, dress more girly but that wasn't Lauren. "My friends don't decided to like me on my clothes!" She exploded. "They'll think we don't buy you decent clothes!" Her mum shot back. Mrs. Colt was a very fashion consious woman, she would shop in all the big designers and always dress as though she was walking down a catwalk in Paris. Lauren hadn't inherited many traits from her mother; she couldn't care less what she looked like, she didn't follow the latest styles and she played Qudditch, which her mum disapproved of. "Mother! They won't care!" Lauren shouted, startling everyone in the room. Her five brothers; Fred, sixteen, George, seventeen, Matt, nineteen, Charlie, twenty, and Nick, twenty one, were gathered in the kitchen. Nick was the oldest and a auror, Charlie was next, he worked at the minestry, then Matt, he played professional Qudditch, then Fred, who was still at school and George who attended Howarts with Fred and Lauren. Matt's friend Finnick had joined them as well, Finnick had pratically lived there since he became best friends with Matthew in their first year at Hogwarts and Lauren had known him all her life. Mr. Colt was sitting at their glass dining table, reading a copy of The Daily Prophet, only midly interested. Lauren and her mum had been having petty arguments like this all over the summer break, she would long for the times when she had Quidditch pratice or a game. After the holidays, Lauren would be going into her fourth year at Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry, they attended the Quidditch cup final every year. Lauren's dad was crazy over Quidditch and brought up all his sons the same. When Lauren had been born, Mrs. Colt's wishes were for filled, she'd finally had a daughter who she could dress up and treat as a mini barbie doll, but no. Lauren had taken an instant liking to Quidditch, she had studied it until she was old enough to ride a broom. The first time she played it, she beat her whole family and it turned out she was better at the sport than anyone else in her family. The TT recruited her and she played beater for them every summer, much to her mothers annoyance, they'd won three years in a row and this year hadn't been any different. It was august already and soon she'd be returning to school, she thought she had better see her friends at least once and chose the period after the end of TT matches and the Quidditch world cup. This year, in the final match, she'd broken her nose again. Her mother was getting tired of constantly fixing it after Quidditch matches, she'd broken it in every match she'd played with the TT. She couldn't explain it; bludgers just liked her face, although when she told her mum this she screamed something unrepeatable. "How do you ever expect to find a boyfriend?!" Her mother screamed. This was a common topic in their house and she always brought it up. "I figured I'd just die alone with my books and ten cats," Lauren replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Nick sniggered into his coffee, the others smirked, letting out small giggles and Finnick smiled into his porridge. "Oh! I'm glad you all find my concern for your sisters future so amusing!" Mrs. Colt screetched, narrowing her cobolt eyes and furrowing her brow. "Mum, I'm barely fourteen! I don't need a boyfriend! You can worry when I'm Nick's age and alone!" She shot back, her teal eyes glittering under the candle light. "You want to get to twenty one without having had one boyfriend than, do you?!" Her silky, black dress swaying slightly. "Well, yeah," Lauren answered, honestly. Mrs. Colt looked like she was about to explode; her cheeks were deep crimson, her fists were clenched so tight, the skin stretching over her knuckles was white and a deep frown was planted on her face. "Don't give me that attitude! Your brothers have had girlfriends, why can't you be like them?" "Now you want me to be like a boy?" Lauren asked, smirking. "You know what I mean! Don't get smart with me, young lady or I'll take away your broom!" "It's different for boys though! They'll kiss anything with a mouth!" Lauren shouted, matching her mum's tone. "Emberly, dear-" Mr. Colt started. "Taking her side again, Dan?!" She cut in. "Mum, chill out. Lauren doesn't need a boyfriend, she's far too young," Nick piped up, being the oldest he was the most protective of Lauren. "Yeah, and when she does, we'll be here to tease her," Fred chipped in, a mischevious grin set in place. "Trust me, I don't intend to have a boyfriend until I'm in, at least sixth year," She told her family, Finnick was basically family, smiling at them. "You say that now but what If a really attractive guy came along?" Finnick teased, smiling. "Then, according to mum, they'd judge me on what I was wearing and run away," Lauren replied and Finnick and her brothers tried to hide their chuckles. "It's true! If you just let me dress you-" "I'd look like a barbie doll!" Lauren interupted, losing her temper again. "Maybe but at least you'd look presentable," Emberly snapped. "Well I'm sorry that we can't all look like we're about to walk down a catwalk in Paris regularly!" "It's not just the clothes, you have no hint of femininity in you! You play Quidditch, you're constantly reading, you don't do anything to you hair, you act like a boy and you don't wear any make-up, in fact, you don't do anything girly!" Her mum shouted, making everyone in the kicthen wince, except Lauren. "That's the stereotypical daughter! I like Quidditch and I happen to be quite talented at it! Books improve your intelligence, make-up gives you spots and my hair is fine the way it is!" Lauren shouted, a strand of chestnut hair falling over her shoulder. "Everyone calm down, I'm sure we could settle this is a quieter manner," Mr. Colt soothered, folding up his paper and placing it on the glass table. "I'm just trying to look out for my daughter, is that such a crime?!" Lauren's mum defended. "No but you're doing it the wrong way!" she snapped back, frowning. Lauren had inherited one thing from her mother; they were both feisty. "You try being a parent sometime! It's not easy!" "You're right, I don't know what it's like and I never will because I'm not having children!" Lauren shouted. This had the desired effect, Mrs. Colt went extremely pale and looked more horrified then angry. "But you have too!" "I don't have to do anything, especially carry on this stupid pure blood line!" The words escaped her pale lips before she knew what she was saying. "Actually, to carry on the blood line," Mrs. Colt said the word with much more respect than Lauren,"you have to marry another pure blood and you won't be able to do that dressed in frumpy clothes!" "She can marry Finnick!" Matt burst out. "Shut up, Matthew!" His mother snapped, her teal eyes flecked with fury. "Just trying to diffuse the tention," Matthew answered, sinking lower into his leather chair. "Okay, one, I'm not marrying Finnick and two, can we please have this discussion another time? I'm going to be late for my friends and we need to get our school things," Lauren asked, a lot calmer than before. "Lily's not here yet," Mrs. Colt snapped. "I can see that," Lauren mumered. "But I suppose you're right, Fred, George, get ready to leave. Lily should be here any minute, I'm going to get my coat," Emberly told her family and exited. "You know, you shouldn't push her like that," Matt told her as she sunk into one of the brown, leather chairs. "I don't mean to but she was talking about boyfriends! Urgh!," Lauren massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers,"That woman is trying to rule my life," Lauren complained. "Don't worry, we all got it at your age. The girlfriend talk," Matt shuddered. "Yeah but I bet you didn't get it like that," "I guess she thinks because you'll be fourteen in january, you'll start noticing boys more," Nick injected. "Although from what I've heard, boys notcing you isn't a problem," Charlie added. Lauren looked up from massaging her forehead and pulled a confused look; sure some boys had asked her out but not unnatural ammounts. "Who?" Mr. Colt asked, looking very interested. "I'd quite like to know myself," Lauren's frown was furrowed in thought. "Malfoy, of course!" Charlie told them, as if it was obvious. "Urgh, don't. I actually hate him," Lauren said rolling her eyes. "Yeah, but will it blossom into love?" George teased, pulling on his shoes. "No," Lauren replied bluntly. "Why would you tell us anyway?" Fred asked, waggling his eyebrows. "I don't have a boyfriend nor do I want Malfoy as one," Lauren concluded. Just at that moment, the doorbell rang and Lauren bounded off to answer it. Swinging open the tall, wooden door, Lauren saw her bestfriend Lily standing there. Her blood-red hair and striking emerald eyes standing out, she was wearing black, skinny jeans, a silk emerald top, to match her eyes, and black boots. "Lily!" Lauren exclaimed, hugging her. "Lauren, how have you been?" Lily asked, entering the house. "Good thanks, you?" "Good, thanks! Merlin, I haven't seen you in ages!" she said smiling. "I have very busy summers," Lauren replied and led her towards the kitchen. Pushing open the tall wooden door, they entered inside and her mum, Fred and George were stood by the fire. "Lily! You look lovely, dear!" Mrs. Colt gushed. Lauren knew that was a dig at her and rolled her eyes. "Hey, Lily," "Alright?" "Good, thanks," she replied, polietly. "Let's go then! Lauren, Fred, George, have you remebered your lists?" "Yes, mum," They all droned at the same time. "Good! We'll be off then, see you all later," She handed round a crystal bowl containing a black power and George, Fred, Lily and Lauren took a handful each. The roaring flames flickered acidic green as Mrs. Colt climbed inside the fire place, throwing down the powder, she announced,"Diagon Alley!" and disappeared. Fred went next, then George, after Lily and finally Lauren had said, "Diagon Alley," and vansihed. The fire returned to it's normal gold flames, flickering and creeking.

CHAPTER 2: A TRIP TO DIAGON ALLEY

Lauren felt a tumbling feeling, as though she were doing consistent forward rolls. Her insides began to squirm, her temples pounded and she felt sick rising from her stomach. The fire spat her out onto a black, fluffy rug, brushing soot off her clothes, she stood up and crossed the room to where her family and Lily were waiting. She was still brushing black powder out of her chestnut hair when they entered onto a narrow, cobbled street, golden sunlight draping them. "I hate floo networks," she complained, finding more soot. The street was lined with shops either side like landing lights, each of them selling different things. Ollivanders sold wands, Flourish and Blotts sold quills and parchment and books and there was a shop that sold everything to do with Quidditch. Of course, they were amoung other impressive shops, each one selling something completely different to the previous and next. The first shop they approached was one selling culdrons, a sign above them informed people they had all sizes, self-stirring and collapsible, also they came in copper, brass, pewter or silver. The sunlight draped the shop, making it appear much more welcoming than when Lauren had first came here. Carrying on, Lauren snapped her head from left to right, it still looked as curious as when she was gazing apon them the first time. Hooting was ringing from a small, dark shop called 'Eeylops Owl Emporium, they had all types-tawny, screech, barn, brown and snowy, how Lauren longed to own an owl. Letting her gaze slip, they walked past Gringots wizarding bank, they had taken out their money earlier that summer to aviod hastle, and stopped outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "We better get your robes," The children groaned as Mrs. Colt pushed them into the shop. Madam Malkin was a small witch with a kind smile planted on her plump face and indigo robes draping her. "Emberly," She greeted,"How are you?" Her voice was oddly high-pitched. "I'm good thank you. I'm afraide I've got more children for you to fit, except Lily," She pointed to the flame-haired girl,"She's just staying with us," "Not at all," she smiled warmly at Lily. Fetching four, small wooden stools, she placed them down in front of the children and gestured for them to climb on. Lily was a small girl, about 5"4, she looked even shorter comapred to Lauren, who was around 5"7 and still growing but they both looked tiny compared to Fred and George. Even though they were only a few years older, Fred was 5"11 and George was over six foot, they had inherited their fathers huge, mahogany eyes and floppy black hair, in fact all of the boys did. Lauren looked nothing like her siblings but she looked almost identical to her mother; they both had teal eyes that shone every colour when the light hit them and chestnut hair that was neither straight nor wavy. Poking them with pins, Madam Malkin fitted their school robes, first to fit their hight, Fred and George's didn't need much adjusting, then she adjusted them to be fitting but not clingy and flowy but not drowning. Finally, everyone had brand new robes, they'd paid, bid goodbye to Madam Malkin and exited the shop. Next they headed to Flourish and Blotts to buy their school books, Lauren pulled out the list of books and read

Set Books All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 4) by Miranda Goshawk A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment I wand I cauldron (Pewter, standard size 2)  
I set of glass or crystal phials I telescope 1 set brass scales

Her teal eyes skimmed the list and her mum began picking up different books and putting them in their baskets, ones with vibrant green covers and gold writing to ones with brown, leather binds and silver writing. Lauren would probably read these before she went back to Hogwarts, but since this morning Lauren thought it best to wait until her and Lily went off alone to examine them properly. "You give me these, I'll go off and buy them," Mrs. Colt offered, taking the four baskets,"We'll meet outside here in one hour, don't be late and be careful," "Okay, mum. We'll see you later," Fred and George said, Fred heading to a tall boy with jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes, George heading towards a shorter boy with tawny, floppy hair and warm, honey eyes. "Bye, mum," Lauren replied, her and Lily walked out of the shop and onto the narrow street. The sunlight streaming on their backs, they walked to Gringots where they'd arranged to meet the marauders. "I'm nervous," Lily admitted once they were walking towards the bank. "Why? It's only been six weeks," Lauren asked, her teal eyes sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight. "It might be awkward. I mean, do I hug James, kiss him, what?" She asked, her emerald eyes wide with worry. "Please just hug him, for my and my eyes sakes," "Shut up," Lily joked, elbowing Lauren. "I thought you saw him?" Lauren asked, glancing around for their friends. "I did but he was alone then, his with his friends now," "Oh, for merlin's sake! Call yourself a Gryffindor?" "Oi! I can't help being nervous," Lily defended. "If it gets too awkward, I'll shove you into him, okay?" Lauren asked, her chestnut hair flying out behind her. "It is comforting having you around," Lauren chuckled. They were approaching Gringots, a snowy white building with goblins wearing a uniform of scarlett and gold, it stood out amoung the other shops because of it's size and bronze doors. By the side of the building stood the marauders, when Lily and James saw each other they're faces lit up into huge smiles which made Sirius and Lauren laugh and earn a disapproving look from Remus. "How's your guys summer been?" James asked. "It's been alright, Petuina's still complaining about Hogwarts but it's getting better," Lily replied. "Good, thanks. I broke my nose, got told I dress frumpy, I'm never gonna get married and I'm gonna die alone with my books and ten cats," Lauren answered, beaming. "You guys?" "Good thanks," James answered. "Who told you, you were gonna die alone with ten cats?" Sirius asked. "Well, me but only to annoy my mum," Lauren answered, smiling. "Wow, I never knew," "What?" "Apparently you can tell the future," Sirius replied and smirked. "Shut up! I also remebered what I liked about the summer," "What?" "Not hearing your voice," Lauren answered and James, Lily and Remus laughed. "Where do you guys wanna go?" Remus asked as they walked back down the cobbled road. "I saw a bookshop on the way here," Lauren suggested. "I saw an ice cream shop," Sirius said. "Why didn't you have breakfast?" Lauren asked. "He did," James injected. "I can't help it! I'm hungry," Sirius defended. "Wow, he must eat more than Charlie," Lily said. "No, no one can eat more than Charlie," Lauren responded. "And whose Charlie?" James asked. "One of Lauren's brothers," Lily answered and shrugged. "How many have you got?" Remus asked.  
"Five," Lauren replied smiling. "I like your top," James complemented. "Thanks," They walked to a small, dark shop with a display of rich, leather bound books with gold and silver writing in the window, the bell tingled as they entered. Lauren headed over to a shelf on potions, Lily headed to one about Magical Creatures and Remus went to one that contained books on Transfiguration. Sirius went with Lauren, Peter with Remus and James with Lily. Running her finger along the spines, Lauren skimmed the titles for what she wanted. Tapping the right book, she slid it out of its place and read the blurb. Sirius was reading over her shoulder, she could feel his warm breath on her back of her neck, sliding it back, she turned around. "You could at least act interested," Lauren complained, reading the blurb of a book bound in black leather. "But I'm not interested, I'm hungry," He replied pouting. Lauren moved along the whole row, pulling and sloting books randomly. "How was your summer?" Lauren asked. "It was okay, I'm staying at Prongs' house at the moment until school starts again," Sirius replied. "You?" "Good thanks, I just played Quidditch," Lauren responded, picking up another book. "Oh, yeah. I heard TT won the tournament again," "Yeah, for the fourth year. It was a good match," "You broke your nose again, though," Sirius phrased it like a question but he knew she had. "Yeah, It hurt," she replied, rubbing her nose. "I take it your mum wasn't very happy?" He asked, smiling slightly as she slid out another book from its' place. "Not exactly," Lauren sighed,"she's getting worse every year," Lauren slotted the emerald book back where it came from. "Nah, she's only looking out for you," Sirius replied, smiling at her.  
"Don't defend her! This morning she told me that I dressed frumpy!" Sirius chuckled lightly. "It's just a matter of opinion. You and her are complete opposites, she wouldn't understand," "I suppose," Lauren mused,"but it's still not fair!" "It's her opinion," he shrugged,"I like the way you dress." Their eyes locked, twinkling teal with cool, grey, neither said a word, they just stared into each others eyes until a voice broke their contact. Both of them cleared their throats and turned their eyes away. "Lauren! Sirius!" "What?!" Lauren called back. "We're leaving!" James called. Lauren slotted the book she was reading back into bookcase and met them at the entrance. The bell tinkling as they left, they walked up Diagon Alley. "Sorry to pull you away from your books but we need to go to Flourish and Blotts to get our school things," James apologised. "You haven't already?" Lily asked, giving them disapproving looks. "We haven't been here long!" Sirius replied. Lily, James and Sirius were all caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice Lauren drop behind a bit to talk to Remus, who seemed oddly distant. "What's wrong?" Lauren asked, sending him a warm smile. "Nothing," Remus replied. "Don't lie to me," Lupin chuckled. "That obvious?" "To me, what's wrong?" Lauren asked. "The last transformation was particulary bad, I've got a lot of scars," Lupin whispered as they headed back down the narrow street. "Lupin! Why didn't you tell the others?" "I didn't wanna bother them, it's nothing really," Remus replied. "It is something! You need to tell them," Lauren told him. "If it's bad next time, I will," Remus promised. "You better! They have a right to know," she replied, looking stern. "I know, it's just I always feel like I'm burdening people with this," he sighed,"they had normal lives before," "If you call being a wizard normal, than yeah they did. But they're your friends, Remus, they care." "I know, I just feel like everyone has to keep this big secret and it's not fair," Remus told her, the gold flecks in his hazel eyes catching the yellow rays emitting from the sun and flashing. "But it's not fair for you to suffer alone. We all want to help you Remus, whether you want it or not is irrelevent," She soothed, smiling. He chuckled lightly and sent her a warm smile. "You always know how to cheer me up," It was Lauren's turn to laugh, it sounded like a bell chiming. "Well," she said, fluttering her eyelashes and laughing,"I try." "Thanks, Lauren."  
"I'm always here, you know that! Anyway, you have to tell the marauders or I will," Lauren threatended, still smiling. "I know," Remus replied, smiling,"And I promise I will." "Hurry up!" Sirius yelled, rolling her eyes at him Lauren increased her pace and soon her and Remus were with the group again. They'd reached Flourish and Blotts, stepping inside the familair smell of leather filled their nostrils. The marauders grabbed baskets and began shoving the required books in. Lauren had more time to study them; the potions book was emerald green with gold lettering, the DADA book was bound in brown, leather with silver lettering and the others were indigo, crimson, navy and turquoise. The marauders went to the front desk to pay for their books, leaving Lauren and Lily to browse the shop. Lauren was reading a book on the effects of wrong potions, one lady had sprouted a tail because she added the eye of a newt instead of a toad, a man had gained the ability to breath fire because he'd missed out some liquid. "Well, well, well, Lauren." A cold, smirking voice came. Spinning around, her hair flying out behind her, her worst fears were confirmed. Malfoy, a tall boy, not as tall as Sirius, with cropped, platinum blond hair and stormy grey eyes and a permanent smirk. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Lauren spat, her voice as cold as ice. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me?" "Urgh! Shove off, you've asked me since first year, the answer was no then and it will always be no!" Lauren exclaimed. "I'm sure you'll change your mind," "I won't," Lauren replied. "I've grown up this year," Malfoy said, smirking. "Shame your mental age hasn't," Lauren snapped. "Now, that's not very nice," he cooed, pouting his lower lip. "The truth hurts," She sniped, pulling her thin, fair eyebrows together. Malfoy laughed, a cold, cruel laugh. Storming off, she met the marauders and Lily but the counter, still fuming. Lily was very easy to spot in a huge crowd because of her crimson hair. They were all in conversation about Malfoy, Hogwarts and what the lessons would include, which didn't interest James or Sirius, the shop was slowly emptying around them. They all looked different this year; Lily's vivid crimson hair was the same and her emerald eyes were as piercing as ever but she'd grown a few inches over the summer, Remus had grown taller too, his tawny hair had grown longer to become floppy, Sirius had grown even taller, if possible, he was now nearly as tall as Fred, Jame's hair had become even more unruely and Peter had got chubbier but Lauren had changed the most. Her hair had become wavier, her face had become more angular and she'd grown too. Sirius had had a crush on Lauren since the beginning of third year, James was the only one whom Sirius had told but Lily and Remus had cottoned on pretty quickly. He had secretly admitted to James that he was nervous about meeting her today, to which James teased him endlessly, Sirius was worried she might've changed over the summer but his fears were discarded when they'd met up at Gringots. Sirius wasn't really the type of guy to crush on girls like this, his floppy, black hair and stormy eyes made half of the girls in Hogwarts long to be his girlfriend, he was known as a player but what he felt for Lauren was different. Before, he would date girls simply because he could, not caring whether they got hurt or not but now, now he wanted Lauren to be his girlfriend not because he needed or wanted one but because he was crushing on her, hard. Seeing James and Lily get together last year had only spured on his longing for them to become a couple, he'd wanted more than anything to tell her how he felt last year but he never really got the chance. It was just a crush, it would pass, right?  
"Lauren!" A tall boy with black hair and huge chocolate eyes was heading towards her. "Fred, what's up?" Lauren asked, as he drew nearer. "We're going now," Fred told her, eyeing Remus, James, Sirius and Peter. "Okay, I'll be along in a minute," Lauren replied but Fred had other ideas. "Hey, I'm Fred," He greeted the marauders."I'm guessing you're James?" He asked pointing towards James. "Yeah, nice to meet you," James replied. "Same, Lily's told us all about you," He winked at James and Lily blushed furiously. "Sirius?" Fred asked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" Sirius replied. "I met you when you were tiny, your mother came round our house a lot. Pure bloods and everything," Fred explained. "Oh, I don't remember," Sirius answered. "You wouldn't, too young," Fred replied. "This is Remus and this is Peter," James introduced. "Nice to meet you both, well I better go and find George. Nice to meet you all," Fred said and disappeared. "Sorry about him," Lauren apologised. "Nah, I like him," James replied, smiling. "More importantly, Sirius has beem round your house!" "Hmm, not surprising really," Sirius told Lily. "Yeah, the pure bloods have a sort of community," Lauren explained. "What? How come I'm not in it?" James asked. "You wouldn't want to be," Sirius replied. "You're lucky. Your parents probably moved away from all that," Lauren told him. "Maybe I'll ask them about it," "I don't know, James," Lauren said. "They might get a bit touchy about it, especially if they were thrown out," Sirius cautioned. "What do you mean, thrown out?" James asked. "Well, If your parents were friendly with muggles or muggle-borns than they would be branded as blood traitors and thrown out," Lauren explained. "You're parents are in it?" James asked Lauren. "They've been trying to get out but they're too good friends and they won't let them," Lauren said. "And I get away from it as much as I can," Sirius added. "But if you guys stayed, you could've ended up married?" Lily asked. "Maybe,"  
"It's possible but Sirius' cousins would've been asked before they turned to others in the community," Lauren answered. "Same with Lauren," "Woah, you guys were right. I really don't wanna be in that," "Anyway, my mum will be wondering where we've got to, I guess we'll see you guys on the train," Lauren said and walked to the front of the store with Lily. "Ready girls?" She asked. "Yeah, we're ready," Lauren answered.

CHAPTER 3: A REVELATION

The feeling of tumbling hit Lauren again, her insides felt like they were being pulled out, her temples were thumping against her skull, her head began to spin, then it all stopped. She was spat out onto her kitchen floor, brushing herself down, she stood up. Lily was already waiting for her since Lauren was the last one through. Everyone was sitting in the living room when they got back, black, leather sofas were situated in the room, the cream carpet underneath felt spongy and soft against their bare feet, a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and candles were placed on the walls, held up by iron brackets. A small, glass coffee table was placed in the centre of the room and the windows were draped in silky, black curtains. Lauren sat down on the plush, leather sofa, Matt was sitting to her right and Lily to her left. Fred and George were playing a game of exploding snap, her dad was reading the daily prophet, his glasses placed on the bridge of his nose, Charlie and Nick were discussing the minestry of magic and their jobs, Finnick and Matt were talking about the latest Quidditch game and Lauren and Lily were playing wizard chess. After loosing again, Fred sat up and packed the cards away. "Guess who Lauren's friends with?" Fred asked, beaming. "Is it another pure blood?" George replied, humouring him. "Yep," "Is she nice?" Lauren's dad asked. "It's a he," This caught everyones attention, they were all very protective of Lauren; she was the youngest and the only girl. "It's not that Malfoy boy, is it?" Nick asked. "Nope, but you do know him," Fred replied, clearly relishing this. "Malfoy's the only pure-blood of her age, I know. He is her age, right?" Matt asked, joining in. "Yes," "Clues?" Finnick asked. "Not you too Fin," Lauren groaned. "Sorry, Lauren," "Okay, he's her age but he's nearly my hight," Fred answered. "That doesn't really narrow it down, son," "Okay, okay. He use to come round here quite a lot with his mum, when she was pregnant with her youngest child," Total silence fell on the group, Lauren didn't know if they were thinking or mad at her. Sirius was technically in the community but he was trying to get out, he wasn't even in Slytherin. "Sirius?" Nick asked. "Yeah! And she fancies him," "I do not!" Lauren shouted but she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "You do too!"  
"Shut up, Fred," Lauren snapped and scowled at him. Lily was trying to refrain from laughing, she was smirking at the floor and Fred notcied this. "See? Even Lily agrees with me," "I'm not getting involved," "I don't fancy him!" Lauren shouted, her cheeks going a deeper crimson. "You so do!" George said, smirking. "You weren't even there!" Lauren accused. "Well, he's not exactly ugly," George replied, the smirk still in place. "Well, no but-" Lauren started. "Aha! So you admit it," Fred shouted. "No! I mean he's not ugly but he's my friend!" "Are you guys close?" Matt asked. "Yeah, all of us are like best friends," Every single boy in the room smirked, including Lauren's father, and exchanged a knowing glance. "What?" Lauren demanded. "Girls and boys can't be best friends without one fancing the other," Fred explained. "Yes they can! Remus is my best friend and I don't fancy him and he certainly doesn't fancy me!" "Yes but are you as close to the others as Sirius?" "Well, no but-" "See? He fancies you or you fancy him, or both!" George exploded. Lauren blushed again. "You have no proof!" "Okay. Lily," She looked up, "Before you started dating James were you guys best friends?" Fred asked. "Yeah," Lily replied. "Matt, is it true that you fancied Skyla when you were best friends with her at Hogwarts?"  
"Yeah," "Finnick, you were in a friendship circle with your girlfriend before you started dating, correct?" George asked. "Yeah, we were always the closest," "There's your proof," Fred told her. "That's not proof! That's manipulation!" Lauren shouted, still blushing, "Dad'll back me up, right?" She turned her teal gaze on him. "Well, you know I would, but your mother and me were best friends since first year. I developed a crush on her and asked her out in fifth year," "What?! He...I...He doesn't fancy me!" Lauren shouted. "He does!" Fred replied smirking. "We should know, after all we've been there ourselves," George added.  
She had no idea what colour her cheeks were now, some uncharted colour that was deeper than crimson. "You've been there like once, you know nothing!" Lauren snapped. "Hold on, just because I've been in a situation like that doesn't mean Lauren is," her dad soothed,"Sirius could just be her best friend and that's all there is too it," "Exactly, only time will tell," Nick added, smiling warmly at her. Fred and George laughed. "Don't you guys have some packing or homework to do?!" Lauren snapped. "Done it all," "We'll save all the jokes for tomorrow," George told her and smiled mechiviously. "Great," Lauren said, her voice dripping with sracasm. "Hey! You might end up marring him!" Fred gasped. "No, he's trying to get away from that," Lauren answered. Fred and George exchanged a glance and their faces broke into smirks. "What now?" "You seem to know a lot about him," "Yes, because he's my friend!" Lauren snapped. "His mum won't let him, so there's still hope," George said. "Why won't she let him?" Lauren asked. "Because their all dark wizards,"  
"His whole family?" "Yeah. Did you not wonder why he doesn't visit anymore?" Fred asked. "Well, it all started on a cold, winters eve-" George began. "I think I better tell it before we find out she was an axe-weilding murderer on weekends," Nick interupted. "She basically came to mum when she was pregnant with Regulus, her youngest son, she was very keen in the dark arts and she wanted to inflict them upon her children. Sirius was too young to remember but she wanted him and Regulus to become dark wizards when they were older. Mum tried to convince her against the idea but she wouldn't listen, she was set on it. One night, her and mum had a massive argument about it, I was seven at the time and didn't understand most of it. She took this pure-blood thing way too far, she wanted her sons to be dark wizards and then there sons would and so on. Dark wizards down the generations but mum disagreed, she didn't want us to become dark witches and wizards, she wanted us to be normal, or so to speak. She told mum that her children had to become dark to support the bloodline, that she had no choice and mum basically told her that she had a choice and she was choosing to disobey these 'orders' and bring us up as good wizards. They never spoke again, every time mum tried to patch things up with her, she simply refused. They were really close, they were best friends and they expected us to be best friends with her children and that never really happened." Nick finished, Lauren and Lily were stunned into silence. "Until now, of course. You and your boyfriend have messed everything up, if his mother ever found out, she'd probably forbid him to speak to you," Fred told her. "But can she do that? I know she's his mother but surely he could refuse?" Lauren asked. "If he refused, he'd be disowned," George said, seriously. It was the first time his family had heard him be serious, he was normally joking around, being, generally a prat. "I don't know, he could refuse," Nick mused. "She's not that important to him, surely!" Fred burst. "I didn't mean that, I mean from what Lauren's told us, he's already rebelling," Nick answered. "Plus, he's in Gryffindor!" Lauren added. "What about Regulus?" Her dad asked. "Slytherin, year below," Lauren told them. "You and Sirius should marry," Matthew said. "What?!" Lauren asked, her cheeks glowing crimson. "Her face would be priceless," "She's not gonna do that, though?" Lauren asked. "Awh," "Shut up, Fred," "No, from what you've told us, If he is really trying to get out then he'll tell his family as little as possible," Nick answered, smiling. "Woah, how did this conversation get so Sirius?" Him and Fred roared with laughter. "That was quite good, Georgieeee," Fred told his older brother. "Great, George the prat is back," Lauren sniped. "That was quite good though," "Thought you were saving them?" Lauren asked. "Oh, yeah! If I say them in front of him it'll be even funnier and more embarassing for you!" George said. "Why are you guys doing this to me?" Lauren whined. "Because he fancies you and it's our duty as brothers," Fred said. "DINNER!" Mrs. Colt called from the kicthen.

They all got up and trapsed into the kitchen, the smell of homemade food wafting through the whole house. Taking their seats at the glass table, everyone began to tuck in to the dinner. Emberly looked please to see everyone enjoying her food, Lauren's mum was an amazing cook but, like most things, Lauren didn't inherite this either. Spooning vegetables onto her empty plate, Lauren felt someone watching her, glancing her teal eyes up she met Fred's huge chocolate ones and frowned. "Mum, do you know who Lauren's friends with?" Fred asked. Lauren kicked him under the table but he either didn't feel it or ignored it.  
"With six children it's hard to keep up with everyone's friends, who is she friends with?" Mrs. Colt replied. "Sirius Black," Fred said and spooned another mouthful of delcious food into his mouth. Emberly nearly chocked on hers, Lauren felt her cobolt gaze fall upon her. "Black as in?" She asked her husband. "Yes but Lauren assures us he is nothing like his parents," Her husband replied and carried on like nothing had happened. "You're comfortable with them being friends?" "Yes, dear. I trust Lauren's judgement and he's a Gryffindor," Mr. Colt replied. "And she fancies him," Lauren felt like every drop of blood in her body had risen to her cheeks, she felt like her head was on fire. "No, Freddieeeee! He fancies her," George corrected him. "No one fancies anyone!" Lauren snapped, her blush increasing. "Awh, Georgieeeeee, she's blushing," Fred teased. "Fred, George, that's enough. Eat your dinners and continue this away from the table," Mrs. Colt told them and they fell silent. Lauren kept her eyes on her food, not daring to look up at Fred until the meal ended or her face returned to it's normal colour, which ever came first. The only sound filling the kitchen was the creaking embers of the fire and the small, crackling sound whenever a spark ignited. George and Fred were wolfing down their food, clearly eager to start teasing Lauren again. The dim kitchen was lit by candles held in brackets, giving the room an eerie glow. Lauren didn't want to meet her mothers gaze either, incase she was disappointed or mad. "Nick, how's your job going?" Mrs. Colt asked. "Pretty good, we haven't had to deal with as many muggle cases as before, we're mainly just dealing with small cases," "Like what?" Lauren asked, keen to get away from Fred and George's teasng for as long as possible. "All kinds of things, muggles seeing things they shouldn't, missing witches or wizards, that kinda thing," Nick answered. "What do you wanna do, Lily?" "Oh, I haven't really thought about it, I was thinking maybe a teacher," Lily replied, smiling. "Of course not, you're still young," Mrs. Colt told her. "I want to be an auror," Fred exclaimed. "No one asked you," Lauren snapped, still annoyed with him for embarassing her. "It's quite hard work, you've got to get O's or A's," Nick told him. "Oh, then I don't want to be that," Fred responded. Rolling her eyes, Lauren checked that everyone was finished,  
"Can we be excused?" Lauren asked. "Yeah, but I'd like a word with you," Her mum told her. Lauren's mind began to race, she would talk to her about Sirius, surely she wouldn't forbid her to talk to him. "Alright, Lily you can wait for me outside," Lauren told her best friend. Every shuffled out of the kitchen, Fred and George winking at her as they passed. The wooden door swung shut, her mum took out her wand whispered, "Silencio,". "Mum, if this is about Sirius-" Lauren started, her hands dancing over one another in front of her. "It is. Listen, I need to tell you about his mother and me-"  
"Nick already told me," Lauren told her mum. "Okay, that saves some time. Well, I want you to know that whatever happened has happened, that happened with a different generation, I do not see any valid reason why it should effect the next one. Now, I don't know what's going on between you him, and I'd be a fool if i believed what Fred and George said, but I want you to know, I feel no resentment against him and if you wish to date him, than I'm fine with that," Her mum told her. Lauren's mouth nearly opened in shock, she had expected her mum to be completely against the idea of their friendship, let alone a relationship. "Erm, Thanks mum. I'm sorry about this morning," Lauren replied. "No, don't be. You're not me, I get that now," She told her. "Thanks, mum," She pulled Lauren into a tight embrace, the silky, black dress brushing Lauren's face. "Now, you and Lily need to pack. I've put your school things on your beds, pack properly!" Lauren opened the tall door to a sea of expectant faces, her mum lifted the charm off of the door and Lily and Lauren went upstairs.

They walked up the spiralling, carpeted staircase, pictures of the family climbed up the wall, following them. Lauren's room was on the top floor, their house was quite big, it had three floors but that meant a lot of stairs. Reaching the third floor, they walked down a corridor lined with portraites of ancestors and reached her room. Clutching the brass handle, Lauren flicked it and entered. Her room was painted turquiose, a double bed was placed in the centre with a teal chandelier above. A book case was placed on the right, it was full of rich, leather bound books with gold or silver lettering climbing the spines, a double wardrobe was placed in the far corner, a bit unnessicary since Lauren didn't have many clothes, a chest of draws was on the left and a wooden chest was placed next to her bed as a bedside table. A pine writing desk spread along the back wall, a leather chair stood in front of it, the desk had brass nobs on the draws that gleemed in the sunlight. For Lily's visit, they had squeezed another bed inside although it limited the space and you couldn't really move without jumping over obsticals. Placed neatly on the beds were two brown, paper bags, one containg their school robes, the other containing their school books, quills and parchement. Clambering over Lauren's bed, Lily went to her own and took the contents out of their bags, meanwhile Lauren had pulled her heavy, tawny trunk out from underneath her bed and placed it on top. Lauren started to make a list of everything she would need, the sound of the quill scratching over the parchment filling the air, when she was finished, Lauren skimmed over the list. "Lauren, what did your mum want to talk to you about?" Lily asked while pulling her own trunk out. "She just said that what happened is the past and she doesn't hold Sirius accountable for what his mother did," Lauren told her.  
"Do you fancy him?" Lily asked, trying to look casual. There was a long pause, the tention in the air was almost tangiable. "No, I don't," Lauren answered, shoving socks into her case. Scraping her chestnut hair back into a messy bun, she walked over to her wooden dresser and pulled out some clothes for the weekends. "You're talking to me, not your brothers," Lily prompted, packing essential things. Again, a long pause followed Lily's comment and she began to worry she'd offended Lauren. "I don't," Lauren told her, it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. She glanced over her list once more, then she set to work. Rushing around the room, pulling things out, picking things up, Lauren wouldn't meet Lily's gaze. Keeping her teal eyes glued to the floor, Lauren packed the new books, quill and parchment in her trunk. "Lauren, you know you can tell me anything," Lily said while packing her clothes for weekends and Hogsmead trips. Sighing, Lauren stopped packing and perched on the end of her bed. "It's just, this summer everythings chang-" Laurem stopped abruptly, striding over to the door, she yanked it open. Fred and George were crouched on the floor, their ears pressed up against the door,"FRED! GEORGE! GO AWAY!" Lauren shouted, look furious. "C'mon, can you blame us?"  
"We just wanted to know what mum said," "WHY DON'T YOU GUYS JUST ASK LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE?!" Lauren shouted at them.  
"You would never have told us!" Fred replied. "GET LOST!" "We're going," They trapsed off to their rooms, looking disappionted they didn't hear more. Lauren walked back into the room and sat back on her bed again. "Urgh! Brother's!" Lauren groaned and started packing again. Shoving her Hogwarts robes in last, Lauren zipped up up her tunk and pulled it onto the floor. It landed with a loud thud, the house was too noisy for anyone to notice, and Lauren flopped onto her bed, exhausted. Lily zipped up her case moments later and laid it next to Lauren's. "Are you sure you don't fancy Sirius?" Lily asked, laying down on her bed. "Yeah, I'm sure," Lauren replied, sighing. "It'd be cool If you did, we could go on double dates," Lily mused. "Ew, how cheesy," Lauren teased. A soft knocking interupted their conversation, Lauren hopped up, strode across the room and opened the painted, wooden door. "Mum wants to know If you're all packed?" Nick asked. "Yup, all packed and ready to go," Lauren replied, Nick had always been the nicest of her brothers, the most protective and he'd always looked out for her. Whenever she got into an argument with any of the others he would rush straight to her side and back her up, when she first left for Hogwarts, she felt vulnerable. For the first ten years of her life, she'd had him there, protecting her from everything that threatened to harm her, then she realised she had to grow up and take care of herself but the fact that he stilled tried to protect her even at this age showed how much he really cared. "Good, now get to sleep. You're gonna need it, we have to be up really early tomorrow because mum's fretting about being later or something, who knows," Nick told her and laughed. "Are you coming with us?" Lauren asked, hopeful. "Yeah, I'm gonna see you guys off. I can't believe you're in your fouth year already! Anyway, sleep! Big day tomorrow," Nick instructed, turned around and walked to his own room. "You really are naive," Fred's voice came. "I thought I told you to get lost!" Lauren snapped. "You don't wonder why Nick's coming to the station with us when he wasn't planning to yesterday?" George asked. "I...I..." "Think about it; what's changed today?" Fred injected. Rolling her eyes and not really trying, Lauren shrugged.  
"He's coming to make sure that Sirius isn't like his family," George told her. "What?" Lauren asked, she suddenly felt awake. "You said it yourself, he's the most protective," "Kind of sweet If you think about it," "But why?" Lauren asked, her mind wasn't catching up fast enough. "He's convinced Sirius fancies you," "This is all your fault!" Lauren snapped. "Why us?" "Because you've got it into his head that we fancy each other," "But you guys do?" George asked, acting confused. "Shut up, George," Lauren snapped, scowling. "Touchy," "Get him to change his mind!" "How?" George asked. "I don't know but you better or I'm gonna hex your balls off and sell them as dog food!" Lauren snapped. Turning around, she strode back into her room and slammed the door in their faces. "Nice," Lily commented smiling. "Thanks, we should get to sleep, big day tomorrow," "Even bigger if Nick comes," Lily replied, changing into her pajamas. "I think I got through to them," Lauren smirked. Pulling on her silky pajamas, the girls brushed their teeth, washed their faces and climbed into bed. "Goodnight, Lily," Lauren said, yawning. "Night, Lauren," The two girls fell asleep almost instantly.

CHAPTER 4: OFF TO HOGWARTS

"LAUREN! LILY! IT'S TIME TO GET UP," Lauren stirred in her bed, she was far too comfortable and cosy to get up. Fluttering her eyes open, a warmth fell upon her face, crimson light was pouring through her window and draping the whole room. Lily was already sitting up in her bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning, Lauren felt like she could fall back to sleep easily, even though they'd had plently of sleep the holidays were catching up with her. Groaning, she managed to half pull half slide herself from underneath the warm, inviting covers and leant up against the metal frame of her bed. Her eyes kept misting over with every blink she made and her body felt achy and sore like she'd just done a workout. Stretching her arms above her head, she yawned and flopped back down, her hair was wild and frizzy, compared to Lily who woke up every morning like her hair had just been brushed, attempting to flattern it against her head, she cast her eye around the room, the trunks were gone and it looked bare. Failing completely, her tawny hair went static and clinged to her pajama top. Yawning, she shoved the covers on her floor and they landed in a cream heap, she swung her legs over the edge and pulled herself up. "Morning, Lily," Lauren greeted as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her chestnut hair was static and flicking out everywhere, the spots on her forehead had gotten worse and new spots had appeared on her left cheek, it wasn't fair; Lily never got any spots, her skin was always perfect and there was never a crimson strand out of place, Sirius fancied her, yeah right, even she couldn't find anything 'pretty' about her this morning. Giving up completely, she pulled on her hoodie and walked down the stairs with Lily close behind. When they reached the kitchen, everyone was awake and sitting around the table, even Fred and George. "Mooooorning," George greeted her. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Lauren asked suspiciously. "Oh, nothing," George replied. "Okay, who put drugs in George's coffee?" "What would you like for breakfast, girls?" Mrs. Colt asked. "Can I have toast please?" Lily asked. "Yeah, toast please, mum." Lauren answered. "Hey, Lauren?" "What, Fred?"  
"If mum burnt that toast it'd be Siriusly Black," Fred answered and him and George burst out laughing, splashing coffee everywhere. "Excuse me while I die of laughter," Lily let a giggle escape her lips and then composed her face into a line. "Lily likes our jokes, don't you Lily?" Fred asked. "Lily would like to be left alone and not bugged by you pratts!" Lauren snapped. "We've got plently more jokes to come," George promised, smirking. Emberly placed two plates down in front of Lily and Lauren, they both had red roses painted around the edge and gold around the rim. Tucking into their toast, Lauren and Lily watched George and Fred whispering frantically. "Stop whsipering boys, It's very rude and we have a guest," Mrs. Colt told them and frowned. Setting two cups of tea in front of the girls, she hit Fred on the arm as he went to whsiper again. "We have to leave in half an hour, so eat up and stop with the jokes," Mrs. Colt snapped at Fred and George. "Siriusly?" She hit George on the back of the head, he winced but continued to smirk at his younger sister. "Sorry but I couldn't resist ," George said and smirked at Fred. When Lauren and Lily had finished, they put their plates on the side and clamboured up the staircase. Lauren pulled on her navy jeans, a black and crimson checked shirt and her black coverses, Lily pulled on her blue jeans, grey boots and a grey, oversized jumper. They girls got ready at top speed, Lauren attempted to contain the flicks in her hair but they were being stuborn and refusing to go with the rest of the hair, giving up, she left her hair flicky. Lily's crimson hair was always perfect, she never had to do anything but brush it. Feeling jealous, Lauren pushed her flicky hair over her shoulders and ran downstairs with Lily in close persuite. "Right, have you girls got everything?" Lauren's mum asked. "Yeah, I think so," Lily replied, worry flickering across her face. "Yep, I'm sure," Lauren answered. "But are your Siriusly sure?" Fred asked winking. "That wasn't funny the first time and it's not getting any funnier!" Lauren snapped. "It's funny for us," George told her and smirked. "Your dad's put your trunks in the car, so everyone get your shoes on and then we'll leave," Mrs. Colt told them. "Mum, where's Nick?" Lauren asked, hoping Fred and George managed to convince him not to come. "He decided not to come, he didn't see much point," Her mum replied smiling. "Oh, okay," Lauren said and tried to look disappionted. George and Fred stood up, crossed the entrance hall and opened the front door. A cool summers breeze tickled their faces and the sun gleemed down, draping everything in golden light. "Let's go then," Mrs. Colt told them and ushered them out the house. They walked over to the silver car wating out front, they'd used magic to make the back seat fit as many as the required, so Fred, George, Lily and Lauren fitted with ease. "Has everyone got everything?" Lauren's dad asked. "Yeah," "Yes, thanks," "Yes, dad," "Yep, can we go now?" Fred asked. The drive to the station was quite short, it seemed to pass more quickly because Lauren was dreading seeing Sirius, not because of him but because of her brothers. They might let something slip that indicated that Lauren fancies Sirius, then it would be really awkward between them and potentially ruin their friendship. No, she wasn't going to let them. Her stomach doing sumersults, they approached the station and parked the silver ford fiesta in the carpark. Slipping out of the car, Lauren helped her dad with the trunks because her brothers were too busy messing around. "FRED! GEORGE! STOP MESSING AROUND AND HELP YOUR FATHER! GET SOME TROLLIES!" Mrs. Colt snapped and they did as they were told. Togther, they managed to heave all the trunks onto the trollies, Mrs. Colt and Lily couldn't really help because they were quite short and not that strong, but Fred, George, Lauren and Mr. Colt soon had all the trunks on them and we're walking into the crowded station. They headed towards platforms nine and ten, Lauren's stomach fluttering the closer they got, Mr and Mrs Colt were first, then Fred and George and finally Lily and Lauren. By the time they arrived at the barrier, Lauren's stomach was in her throat and she felt like she was going to throw up.

"Right, we'll go through in pairs, first Lauren and Lily, then George and Fred and finally me and Dan," Lauren and Lily lined up their trollies, made sure no muggles were around and ran towards the brick arch. Instead of coliding face first, they sank through and appeared on Platform nine and three quarters. The scarlett steam engine strectched out in front of her teal eyes, belowing black smoke over the onlookers. It looked just as impressive as the day when Lauren had seen it for the first time as a tiny and nervous first year, the youngest always seemed to arrive last. The platform was the emptiest Lauren had even seen it, hardly any body was around, except for a few parents and some really early sixth years, they were standing awkwardly around, waiting for other people to arrive. George and Fred appeared a few minutes later, surprised at the lack of people as well, they stood aside to make room for their parents to come thought and they arrived seconds later. "Why did we have to get here so early?" Fred complained, casting his huge, chocolate eyes around the platform. "We're not that early!" Mrs. Colt told them,"It's only ten to! You're friends will be here soon," "They haven't got any friends," Lauren snapped scowling at them. "You're still mad at us?" George asked, a smirk pulling at his lips. "That's enough! I can't control what you do at Hogwarts but there will be no jokes at Lauren's expense and no fighting, understood?" "Yes, mum," They all mumbled. Soon enough, a tall boy with jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes had appeared through the barrier, Fred's friend. Waving at Fred, he strode across the platform. "I'm off then, I'll see you guys maybe for christmas. I'm not sure yet," "Bye Fred, I'll miss you!" Mrs. Colt gushed and pulled him into a tight hug. "Blimey woman! Let him breath!" George exclaimed. Fred said goodbye to his father, much less emotionally, and walked off to meet his friend. Pulling their enormous trunks onto the train, they were quite red-faced by the time they were finished, and they walked down the train to find a compartment. A second boy emmerged on the platform, he was much shorter than George, he had floppy, tawny hair and warm, honey eyes, smiling he approached the group. "Hey George," He greeted. "Hey, Hayden," George responded, "Well, I'm off too! I'll see you guys in the holidays," Mrs. Colt too pulled him into a suffocating hug and it took George nearly chocking for her to release him. "Merlin, woman! Are you trying to kill me?" George gasped. "You better write to me!" "I probably won't but you'll love me anyway," He called as him and Hayden walked off to put their trunks on the train. Lauren watched as they loaded their trunks up, with a lot of effort, and jumped on the train. The platform was getting bussier with every second that passed; small children were pushing their way through crowds to get onto the train. "We better go and get a compartment," Lauren told Lily as more and more students flooded through the barrier. "Okay. Well thanks for everything, I really enjoyed my stay even though it was only short," Lily said and smiled warmly. "You're very welcome. You must stay for longer next summer!" Mrs. Colt gushed. "Thank you," Lily responded. "See you guys in the holidays," Lauren told her parents. She was pulled into a choking embrace just as her brothers were, she figured it's hurt more to struggle, so she just stood there. Smiling, she said goodbye to her family and they walked over to the Hogwarts express. Lily was clearly having trouble heaving her trunk onto the train, they were packed with everything they need for a whole year; they weren't exactly gonna be light. After the fifth attempt Lily gave up and just stood by her case, Lauren on the other hand had pulled up her case easily and had it positioned on the cargo hold. "Lily, give me your case," "Are you sure you can manage?" Lily asked. "I put my own up, didn't I?" Lauren replied. Heaving Lily's case up onto the train, like it was as light as a feather, Lauren put it next to hers and jumped back down onto the platform. "C'mon, let's get a carriage," Lauren suggested. The climbed on board the scarlett train, walking down a carpeted isle, they checked every compartment to see if it was free. Either receiving glares or apologetic smiles, they glided down the train. Eventually, they reached a free compartment at the end of the train. Sliding the wooden door open, they walked inside and sat down on the cushioned benches. Putting her school bag on the seat next to her, Lauren pulled out her emerald potions book and began to read. Literally seconds later, the compartment door slid open once more. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to read in company?" Sirius asked, smirking. The four marauders walked in, Sirius first, then James, after Remus and finally, Peter. "I think someone did once but I was reading," Lauren answered, smiling. Sirius sat next to Lauren, which made her stomach flutter but she didn't know why, Remus sat next to Sirius, opposite, Lily was by the door, James was next to her and Peter was next to the window. Remus pulled out a DADA book, it was bound in rich, brown leather and had silver lettering on the spine and across the top, Peter just awkwardly stared out of the window and James, Sirius, Lauren and Lily launched into conversation. "You know last time we met, I said I'd ask my parents why they weren't in the pure-blood community?" James asked. "Yeah," Lily answered, intrigued. "Well, I asked them and at first they were reluctant to tell me because it was quite a touchy subject but eventually they softened up. They said it was because they didn't want me becoming a dark wizard as most pure-bloods were being forced to at that time. They moved to the country and haven't spoken to anyone they knew from that, since," James explained. "Oh, that makes sense," Lily replied and smiled. "You guys aren't acting very shocked," James said, disappionted. "It's not very shocking, my parents were told that as well," Lauren replied. "What?" "They refused," Lauren said, shrugging. "You're parents were major rebels," Sirius said and smirked. "I know right?" Lauren replied. "I don't get it," "Yeah, I'm lost," "Don't worry, It's not that important," Sirius answered. "Oh, okay," James replied. "Remus, why are you being boring?" Sirius complained, rolling his eyes. "I'm just brushing up, It shouldn't take long," Remus replied, the flecks of amber in his tawny eyes shining.  
"Anyway, who do you think will be the new DADA teacher?" Lily asked. "I reckon someone whose already there will take it," James replied, messing up his unruley hair. "I reckon they'll get an auror," Sirius answered. "They wouldn't waste aurors to teach lessons, they're too important and I think they're stretched thin as it is," Lauren commented, furrowing her brow in thought. "Then who?" Lily asked, also frowning in throught. Sirius and James caught each others eyes and smirked, they looked exactly the same when they were thinking. "No idea," Lauren concluded, smoothing out her brow. "Well, we've got long enough to think about it," Sirius groaned. The sun had broken through the perfect blue sky and showered everything in golden rays. "Go to sleep then," Lauren suggested, pulling out her emerald potions book from her material bag. "I don't trust you guys, you'll probably like draw on my face," Sirius replied. "Padfoot, I'm happy you know us so well," James said and smirked. "Done!" Remus announced and turned to face the group. "Good, oh great. Lauren's being boring now," Sirius grabbed the book from her hands and before she could react, he held the book above his head and smirked. Even though Lauren was quite tall for her age, Sirius was nearly the same hight as Fred. Scowling, she sat down and folded her arm across her chest. "Good, now everyones finished being boring," Sirius said, took his place again and slid the book into Lauren's open bag. "You guys aren't, are you?" Remus asked, looking worried. "Of course! It's what we do best, Moony," James replied and smirked. "We'll need a victim," Sirius mused. "Okay, now I'm lost," Lauren admitted, unfolding her arms and sitting properly. "They're planning a prank," Remus told her, rolling his eyes. "How can you tell?" Lauren asked, looking from James to Sirius. "They share a sort of knowing look," Remus explained. The sceenery passing the window was just green and brown blurs, they passed the time talking about anything; Quidditch, DADA, Potions and even pranks at one point. Sirius couldn't help but notice how much Lauren had changed over the summer, he never really noticed things like that, but her jaw had become more angualr and she had grown a couple of inches, It's funny the things you notice when you're not even trying. Sirius had talked to James about it over the summer; his feelings for Lauren and how they'd grown and James was relieved, somebody finally understood how he felt about Lily. Sirius had told himself that he'd ask her out the next day or make some lame excuse to himself about how he couldn't do it at that moment but the truth is he was scared, scared of rejection, scared of ruining their friendship and he couldn't date her while her brothers were at school. More excuses, he could date her while her brothers were at school, It might be a bit awkward considering they're in the same house and If he hurt her he'd get beaten up but apart from that it'd be fine. Sirius couldn't bare the thought of him hurting Lauren, if he did, he'd probably help her brothers beat him up. It was a strange feeling; she was on his mind constantly, everything she did made an imprint on his brain, he was more consious of his flirting, the worst thing was he had no one to talk to about it with; his dad would kill him once he'd worked out who she was, Jame's was there but it wasn't the same, he needed someone who'd expereinced it not experiencing. Last year he'd been so close to telling her, the words would be on his tongue but they'd never escape his lips, for some reason he just couldn't tell her. He wasn't really sure what to think, he'd never felt this way about anyone and he'd talked to James a few times but it was awkward, he needed someone who was older, who'd felt what he was feeling.

The sky outside had turned orange, a crimson smudged was spread across the horizon, the wind had picked up; it no longer tickled but chilled. The towns and villages they passed looked beautiful, they were lit up and emmited a yellow glow, the sceenery outside had a crimson tint and the sky was pure orange. It looked like a painting but then that described Hogwarts all together, everything looked like it belonged in a fairy tale book, like it had come from the very depths of someones imagination and been printed into art form. They were about halfway though their journey to school, Sirius had fallen asleep and Lauren, James and Lily resisted the tempation to draw on his face, Remus had gone back to his book about five minutes after he'd said he was done, Peter had been staring out of the window dreamily for the whole time, James and Lily were in conversation, flirting if you asked Lauren, she wished Sirius was awake, then they could make fun of them and she wouldn't have to resist gagging everytime James said something cheesy. It wouldn't be fair to wake him up just for selfish reasons, Lauren just sat there, not really reading nor paying attention to their conversation, her potions book open on her lap had been on the same page for about four minutes, Lauren just wanted Sirius to wake. But he didn't, he didn't even stir, Lauren tried to get engrossed in a romance muggle book Lily had lent her, muggles were very good authors, but it was impossible. Every time she was hooked, a giggle from Lily would knock her concentration and she'd be forced to listen to gooey, romancy conversation and that was the last thing she wanted to hear. Attempting to block them from her throughts for the tenth time, Lauren concentrated on the words in her book as hard as she could, until they were physically etched in her brain. She'd repeated the same word about a hundred times trying to absorbe it but it was no use; no matter how hard she tried, she would get distracted by Lily and James. Lauren wasn't upset with them or annoyed, after all they were a couple and entitled to do whatever they wanted, but she was upset with Sirius for leaving her, she needed him the most she ever would right now and he was sleeping! Groaning, she turned the page in her romance novel and began to read again, it could've been the best book in the world but she wouldn't have been able to appreciate it because her mind kept wandering, she couldn't concentrate, she had an attention span of about fifteen seconds. It was clear the journey wasn't going to improve unless Sirius woke up, which was unlikley as he didn't even stir at a jolt that would've woken most people up, Lauren couldn't remember wanting anything more in her life. Sighing, she returned once again to her book and prepared for her fifteen seconds of reading.

By this time, all traces of light had disappeared, the sky had turned royal-blue, small, diamonds had appeared and the silver moon had replaced the crimson smudge. The sceenery was just shadows now, black silohuetted shadows dancing around in the night, silver light was draping the carriage and the lights had flickered on, adding an artificial, yellow glow. The train had become much quieter the later it got, people began to feel tired and all the hyper-ness left them, replaced by drowsyness. Sirius was still fast asleep, his black hair, shining navy blue underneath the silver light, fell across his face but he slept on, Remus had abandoned his book, like Lauren he couldn't concentrate with the constant flirting and instead opted for pretending to be asleep, Peter was still staring out of the window, in a world of his own and James and Lily were getting unbareable. Once in a while, Lily would giggle softly and attempt to hide it but it rang like a bell and it disturbed Lauren's reading. Scowling, Lauren shoved her book until it nearly touched her nose and began to mutter the words under her breath. It still didn't help, Lauren was trying not to loose her temper but this tested her right down to the core, If she ever got like that, she'd probably tell someone to slap her. The truth was, her brothers were right, she was closer to Sirius than the other marauders, he was the one that made eveything come alive and, like it or not, he was the only one who could improve her mood right now. Glancing her teal eyes over to Sirius, she noticed how his face looked attractiver when it wasn't pulled into his trademark smirk, he looked peaceful when he was sleeping, most people did but there was something angelic about his chistled features. Dropping her eyes, Lauren tilted her head back against the wall. They would be arriving in Hogsmead soon, surely they would need to wake Sirius and alert Lupin that it safe to open his eyes again, they'd need to change into their robes. "Lauren?" She tilted her head forward to look into Lily's emerald green eyes,"We should probably wake Remus and Sirius," "Alright, then we'll get changed," Lauren answered, smiling. "Sirius, wake up," Lauren shouted, hitting him on the arm. His eyes fluttered open, his stormy eyes took a minute to adjust. Slowly, he moved until he was sitting up-right. "Ow," He groaned, rubbing his arm. "Sorry but you seemed like a deep sleeper," Lauren responded, smiling. "We should get changed," Lily suggested. "Alright, how are we gonna do this?" James asked, standing up. "You'll leave while we change and when we're changed, we'll wait outside," Lily said, ushering them out of the compartment. Lauren and Lily changed out of their muggle clothes and into their school robes, Lauren's had a serpent on the badge for Slytherin and Lily's had a lion for Gryffindor. Their brand new robes were pure black, they felt stiff and unconfortable, the rough material was rubbing against their skin but they would wear them in soon. Then Lauren and Lily stepped outside the carriage while the marauders got changed, there was a lot of shuffling and cries of pain but eventually everyone was changed and ready for the new school year.

The scarlett train pulled into Hogsmead, absorbing everyone in the black steam, a small jolt indicated the end of the journey and the marauders, Lily and Lauren stood up. Gathering their things, they slid the compartment door open and walked out into the carpeted isle. Jumping off the train, they headed to the carriages waiting to take them to school. The carriages were square and wooden and where the horse would normally be, stood nothing, the carriages pulled themselves. Climbing inside, they sat on the seats draped in royal-blue velvet and journyed to school. Hogwarts looked like a castle out of a fairytale book; the whole building was draped in silver moonlight, the lake on one side shon and rippled in the night, the many turrets were illuminated and the stain-glass windows shone and reflected every colour imaginable. The students were led up towards the tall, oak doors and entered the castle. The marble entrance hall was gleeming under the silver light, it was reflecting light in every direction. The students started flooding into the great hall, seperating and heading off to their house tables, Lauren said goodbye to the marauders and Lily and walked over to the table draped in emerald while they headed for the table draped in ruby. The golden plates and goblets were set out, waiting to fill with delcious food from the kitchens, the goblets gleemed underneath the artifical ceiling and the cutlery matched. Enchanted candles were floating around the room, giving the hall an eerie, yellow glow, the four tables were set out with the four crests, also the Hogwarts crest was printed onto maroon material and hung from the podeum where professor Dumbledore speaks. The hall was filled with excited chatter, friends catching up, the buzz of being back at school. Alex took her seat next to Lauren, Alex was a curvy, short girl with blond, curly hair and sea-blue eyes, Lauren had met her when she was placed into Slytherin and since then, they'd been really good friends. "Hey, how was your summer?" Alex whispered as she sat down. "Mine was good thanks, yours?" "Good thanks," "Is the sorting gonna take place soon, I'm starving," Lauren hissed, rubbing her stomach. "Same! I wonder who we'll get this year," Alex mused. Just then Professor Magonagal, a tall woman with mousy hair and blue eyes, she always wore tartan robes and was quite slim, walked out and put down a small, wooden stool and the sorting hat. One by one, terrified first years walked out onto the platform, sat on the stool and put on the hat, it would judge your character and sort you into the house that best suits you. A girl called Skyla got sorted into Gryffindor, a girl called Sasha got sorted into Ravenclaw, a boy with black, cropped hair and huge, brown eyes got put into Slytherin and Lauren got lost after that. Her stomach rumbling, she was exstatic when Dumbledore had finished speaking and the feast beagn. The golden plates filled will all types of mouth-watering foods, from pastas to meat, pizza to fish, the encrusted goblets filled with pumpkin juice. Spooning pasta onto her empty plate, Lauren began to eat immediatley, shovling food down so fast, she wasn't sure If it'd been chewed or not. The food stopped the hunger pains that were jabbing her stomach, it felt like a slither of warmth in freezing conditions, like a spot of light in vast darkness. "What did you do over summer break?" Alex asked between mouthfulls of cottage pie. "I just played Quidditch," Lauren answered,"You?" "I spent time with my family, we went to Norway on holiday, it was freezing!" Alex replied.  
"Lucky! What did you do?" Lauren asked, still shoving spoonfulls of pasta into her mouth.  
"We went skiing, ice skating and snow boarding. It was fun but I couldn't live in weather like that permantly," Alex answered. "Yeah, I know what you mean," Lauren answered. 'Pop' the delcicious foods has disappeared and were replaced by mouth-watering cakes, puddings and pies. Lauren took a piece of apple pie while Alex took the cheesecake.  
"Lauren, Isn't that your brothers?" Alex asked, pointing with her sea-eyes to the Gryffindor table. Averting her gaze, Lauren looked over to the ruby table and, sure enough, Fred and George weren't just sitting together, which was a rarety in itself, but sitting with the marauders. Upon seeing her looking, her brothers waved and their faces pulled into smirks. "Urgh. They're unbelieveable!" Lauren exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "What? What are they doing?" Alex asked, clearly confused. "Don't worry, they're just being,"Lauren raised her voice, so they could hear,"Immature," They burst out laughing and their smirks grew, if possible, even wider. Scowling, she began eating her pudding. "How many brothers do you have, again?" Alex asked. "I have five, I get endless teasing. Do you have any siblings?" "Oh, unlucky. No, I'm an only child," "If I was an only child, I'd appreciate the silence," Lauren replied and scowled at her brothers. "Yeah, but sometimes I do wish I'd had a brother, to protect me, y'know?" Alex commented. "I have no shortage of those, I could lend you one," "Yeah! That's be amazing! I pity the guys you date," Alex said. "What do you mean?" "Well, It's true that brothers protect younger sisters, but you have five. Whoever you date is gonna be grilled," Alex explained, smiling.  
"Nick's the oldest, he's probably the most protective," Lauren mused, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I don't know, I reckon Fred and George could be dangerous if someone hurt you," Alex told her, her sky eyes twinkling under the candle light.  
"Really? Nah, I reckon they'd stay out of it," Lauren replied. "No, I think they'd get involved, probably beat him up or something," Alex replied, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I hope they wouldn't, Nick, George and Fred would be leathal!" Lauren said, finishing her pudding.

Dumbeldore bid them goodnight, his silver hair and beard gleeming against his midnight robes, the hall erupted in shuffling and a buzzing of conversation filled the air. Lauren and Alex waited behind until all the students had flooded out of the hall and made their way into the pink, marble entrance hall, students were splitting off in four directions; the Gryffindors heading up the spiralling staircase, the Hufflepuffs walking to a door underneath and to the right of the stairs, the Ravenclaws heading to their tower and the Slytherin's decending into the dungeons. The dungeons were dingy and dark, they never looked inviting even when they were flooded with light. Goosebumps covering her arms, Lauren walked down the glossy, black steps and to the Slytherin common room. There was a commotion by the portraite hall, this happened every year; the students crowded the entrance, making the prefects physically shove and barge just to open the door. "Okay, everyone one listen up," A sixth year prefect called, she was very tall, slender, she had black, curly hair that fell down her back, tanned skin and absorbing, chocolate eyes, "The password is 'Knockturn,'" "Original," Malfoy scoffed, his stormy eyes full of sarcasm. "I don't make the passwords," She snapped, narrowing her eyes, they were about Lauren's size now, and scowling at the paltinum haired boy. Malfoy's cheeks flickered rose. "Knockturn," She announced, her voice was as smooth as chocolate. The portraite swung open and the mnay students climbed through the hole. The Slytherin common room was as dark as ever, the glowing candles and roaring fire barely illuminating their faces, although perhaps a little more inviting than the dungeon classrooms, it still looked dingy. Emerald sofas and chairs were located around the room, two comfy, tatered chairs were placed straight in front of the fire and an apple, fluffy rug was laid near the base of the fireplace. Small, wooden tables were situated around the room, the tiny windows that the room had, there was no point really, since they were in the basement of Hogwarts, were emerald green with silver snakes painted on them. The chocolate-eyed girl strode off with small, terrified first years following her, snapping their heads left and right, soaking it all in. Follwing her was a sixth year prefect boy, he had breath-taking ice-blue eyes, and ice-blond hair to match, his body appeared muscly and toned, though it was difficult to tell underneath his robes, and his walked with an air of shyness. Hurrying his pace, he led the first years up the marble staircase and diappeared. "I guess we should get to our dorm," Lauren suggested, striding through the dark common room, the candles flickering as she passed, and up the marble stair case. Lauren shared her dormitory with four other girls; Alex, Annabeth, a tall girl with flowy, blond hair and sea-blue eyes, Pansy, a short, slight girl with cropped, black hair and emerald green eyes, though they were incredibly dull compared to Lily's, and Rue, a black girl with huge, chocolate eyes that seeped warmth, tightly curled black/brunette hair and even though she was the same age as the rest of them, everyone mothered and cared for her; she was the shortest in the year, slight and very smart. Lauren had taken an instant liking to her, her huge eyes always had a friendly spark in them, her copper face was always pulled into a sweet smile and she'd never heard her say a single bad word against someone unless she severly disliked them; what she was doing in Slytherin no one could fathom. Lauren approached the wooden door, on it a brass plaque was nailed saying "Slytherin 4th Years,", clutching the cold, brass handle, Lauren turned and entered the room. Inside were five wooden four-poster beds, each draped with emerald materal around the sides, each person was allocated a wooden chest for their clothes and a antqiue bed-side table. The brown trunks had already been brought up and were laid next to the persons bed. The crisp, white sheets were prestine and the room looked brand new, the girls would soon mess it up, littering the floor with their belongings, except for Alex who was major OCD, the room looked completely bare without any personal items placed on the chests or tables. Rue, Pansy and Annabeth hadn't arrived yet, so they choose two beds, Lauren's was next to the wall and Alex's was next to Lauren's, they took their trunks over and began to unpack. Lauren was haflway through stuffing her Hogsmead clothes into the wooden chest, when the door swung open and the rest of their room mates were standing in the doorway. Rue was still as cute as ever, she hadn't grown a centimeter since Laurenn had last seen her, her chocolate eyes swimming with happiness, she took the bed next to Alex and started emptying her case, Pansy had grown a tiny bit, not even an inch, and her hair hadn't grown at all, she still walked with her nose stuck in the air and an aura of pride and haughtyness followed her as she took the bed at the other end of the room, much to Lauren's relief. Annabeth strode in last, her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of her neck, whispy pieces framing her face, she hadn't really changed either and Lauren was pleased to discover the couple of inches she'd gained had made her slightly taller, taking the only free bed, she shoved her trunk on it and began to pull out her clothes. "How was your summer?" Rue asked, setting her mahogany eyes on Alex and Lauren, a warm smile spreading across her face. Annabeth and Pansy were talking at the the other end of the room. "Mine was good, thanks," Alex replied, stuffing her socks into one of the many draws. "Same, I broke my nose again," Lauren rolled her eyes,"but we won the cup!" Lauren exclaimed, beaming."You?" She asked Rue, going back to unpacking and sliding her pajamas underneath her silk, emerald pillow. "Ouch, bludger again?" Alex asked, wincing. "Yeah," Rue and Alex weren't as into Quidditch as Lauren but she'd explained the game to them when they first met and it constantly crept up in their conversations. "My summer was good thanks, I didn't really do much," Rue responded, smiling at them. Her whole face seemed to glow when she smiled, it was near impossible imagining her scowling, her teeth looked pearly-white against her dark lips and flecks of light shone in her chocolate eyes. "I'm quite looking forward to potions this year," Lauren commented, her teal eyes sparking like diamonds as they caught the light,"it looks interesting," "I'm looking forward to Herbology," Rue told them, placing a picture of her with a tall, black boy with the exact same curly hair but cropped and the same huge eyes, with, who Lauren assumed to be her parents because the woman looked like an older version of Rue and the man looked like an older version of the boy, on her bed-side table. "Rue, I didn't know you had a brother," Lauren commented, her teal eyes lingering on the moving photo. Glancing her own chocolate eyes over, she beamed and turned her eyes on the girls. "Yeah, he works away from home though as an auror for the minestry," Rue explained, bubbling with pride. "Woah, an auror! Don't you have to get A's and O's in your OWLS and NEWTS for that?" Alex asked in awe, she wasn't the smartest girl but she was no where near the dumbest. "Yeah," Rue replied shyly, smiling. "Lauren has an auror in her family too!" Alex exclaimed, shoving her wand on the bed. "Well, with six of us it was bound to happen," Lauren replied, shoving her now empty trunk underneath her bed. "Six?!" Rue sqeaked, her orb-like eyes even wider. "Yeah, I have five brothers," Lauren told her. "Do they go here?" Rue asked, shoving her own trunk, that probably weighed more than her when full, underneath her bed and climbing onto it. "Fred and George are in Gryffindor, Fred's in his fifth and George is in his sixth," Lauren explained, perching on the end of her bed. "I know them! They're really big trouble makers," Rue said, a mechivious smile pulling at her full lips. "Yeah, they're quite hot as well," Alex told them, shoving her trunk underneath her bed and drawing the emerald drapes open. Rue giggled, her laugh sounded like a chiming bell. "If you're done Alex?" Lauren asked, smiling. "Oh yeah," Alex replied blushing. This made Rue and Lauren laugh, both their eyes catching the light and sparkling. "How old is your brother?" Lauren asked Rue, still smiling. "He's nineteen, there's a big age gap because I was unexpected," she replied. "You guys both have brothers, it's not fair," Alex sulked, pouting her bottom lip. "I don't know about Rue's brother but mine are torture, they all gang up on me," Lauren answered. "Because my brothers a lot older, he's quite mature, so he doesn't really tease me," Rue anwsered, it was impossible for you not to like Rue, her warm eyes drew you in and her cute smile made you want to mother her. "Yeah but brothers protect you," Alex argued. "That is true," "I suppose, but I still don't see why that's so great. When or if I get a boyfriend, four of them will tease me and Nick will grill him until he breaks up with me," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Nick wouldn't do that," Alex said, smiling. "I think he would," "That sounds like my brother, he's over protective of me," Rue told them. "Exactly! Plus I've told you, you're sharing my brothers," Lauren replied. "Oh, yeah! So, I do have brothers," "Not technically but yeah," "See? Now we all have brothers!" Rue said and beamed at the two girls. "What's your brothers name?" Lauren asked Rue. "Jacob, not a very interesting name," Rue replied. "Did you guys see that sixth year prefect?" Alex burst, it had been clear that she'd been desperate to talk to them about it but waited polietly until their conversation was done. "How did I know you'd notice him?" Lauren asked, rolling her eyes. Rue giggled. "He was quite attractive," The two girls stared at Rue in amazement, she'd never speak openly about boys and she'd never mentioned that she'd liked someone. "Rue! You're so innocent!" Lauren gasped. "I was just saying, you've got to admit he was quite," Rue replied. "See?" Alex exclaimed, beaming. "Anyway, we should probably get to sleep," Lauren suggested, jumping off her bed and pulling her cotton pajamas from underneath the emerald, slik pillow. "Okay," Rue answered. "You don't think he's hot?" Alex asked, climbing into her comfy bed and closing the drapes around her, so she was just a silohuette. "No, I don't," Lauren replied, snuggling down and cocooning the duvet around her. "She's only got the hots for Sirius," Rue injected, sniggering into her pillow. "Shut up," Lauren hissed, feeling all the blood in her body rising to her cheeks. Rue and Alex tried to stiffle their laughter unsuccessfully. "Shhhhh!" Pansy hissed from her bed. "Go to sleep!" Annabeth whispered, turning the light off and plunging the dorm into darkness, with only the silver mist streeming through the window for light.

CHAPTER 5: MALFOY, HERBOLOGY AND GILLYWEED

"LAUREN, GET UP!" Alex hissed, shaking her viciously. "I'm getting up," Lauren mumered. Crimson light was pouring in through the window, making the dormitory feel considerably warmer and giving everyone and everything a red tint. The sky outside was pure blue, not a fluffy cloud in sight, the sun was rising and soon the golden light would making everything gleem. Slowly, Lauren pulled the comfy, warm covers off her body and the chilly air bite at her legs and face. Rubbing her eyes, she threw the duvet on the floor, to aviod the temptation of falling back to sleep, and sat up. Leaning her head against the wooden headboard, she cast her teal eyes around the room; Alex was the only other one up, since she insisted on being hours early for everything, Rue was snuggled in her duvet, Pansy was stiring slightly and Annabeth was awake but laying in bed. Swinging her legs around, she pushed herself up and walked over to Rue's bed, careful not to wake Pansy who would kill her. Crouching down, she shook Rue lightly on the shoulder and her chocolate eyes flew open, slowly she detangled herself from the covers and Lauren walked back to her own bed. Pulling open the wooden chest, Lauren yanked her school uniform out and began to get dressed. Alex was already dressed, her uniform was prestine, her hair was scraped back into a pony tail, the gold ringlets covering her back and she was sitting on her bed waiting for it to turn seven, which was the earliest you coud have breakfast because lessons started at twenty to nine, most students didn't get down there until eight. After pulling on her school uniform, Lauren studied herself in the mirror, her hair was flicky, as always, purple bags were forming under her teal eyes and the spots on her cheeks had gotten worse, it always seemed unfair, Rue got no spots and her hair was perfect, Lily was the same and Alex got the odd spot but no one as bad as Lauren. Sighing, she went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, washed her face and turned her attention to her unruely hair; you'd think she was related to James. Her hair was neither straight nor wavy but somewhere imbetween, just like her mother, yanking at the knots, she soon realised it would just be flicky and left it alone. "What's the time?" She asked Alex when she'd accepted defeat and sat on her bed. "About ten to seven," Alex answered, smiling. The other girls had gotten up and were now getting dressed. Grabbing the books she'd bought from Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley, she slid them into her green, material bag and placed it on top of her bed, hastily shoving quills, ink pots and parchment in aswell, she sat on her bed again and waited. Rue emerged from the bathroom, her hair was in perfect tight curls, and crossed the room to where Alex and Lauren were waiting for her. Golden sunlight was now showering everyone in the room and the sky was a perfect vivd blue. "Ready?" Rue asked, smiling tiredly at them. "Yeah," Alex replied. "Let's go," Lauren told them while slinging her material bag over her shoulder and walking to the tall, wooden door. Together, they walked through the marble corridor which was lined with wooden doors leading to the other years dormitorys, down the stairs and into the common room. Even with a stream of golden light filing in, it felt as cold and unwelcoming as ever. Crossing the empty common room, they climbed out of the portrate whole, through the dungeons, glided though the pink entrance hall and into the great hall. The only thing that had changed since last night was the artifical ceiling that reflected the sky outside, it was clear blue with showering golden rays beaming down. However, as they approached the Slytherin table they noticed something else was different; a certain platnium haired boy was sitting in Lauren's usual seat, a wide smirk plastered on his pale face, his stromy eyes watching her as she walked. "Is that?" Alex asked but Lauren had strode forward, her fists were clenched, crimson was creeping up her cheeks and she was scowling at Malfoy, Rue and Alex had to half run to catch up. Furious, Lauren glowered at the smirking boy and folded her arms across her chest. "What are you doing, Malfoy?!" She demanded. "Well, there's no seats and I had to sit somewhere," he answered, trying to look innocent. Craning her kneck, she glanced her teal eyes on his usual seat and somebody had placed their bag on it. Cottoning on to what he was doing, a heat was crawling up her stomach. "Thats' my seat though! I've sat there since first year," Lauren exclaimed, clenching her fists even tighter. "Well, you're welcome to sit on my lap," Malfoy responded, his smirk growing. "Get out of my seat!" Lauren shouted, scowling at him. "I told you, there's no where to sit but the offer about my lap is still open," He answered, winking and waggling his eyebrows. "You have one last chance, get out of my seat!" Lauren told him, much calmer than before. She wouldn't sit on his lap, even if he never moved, she's rather sit on the floor. "But then where would I sit?" Malfoy asked pouting, a few of his friends sniggered behind him. "I don't care where you sit, but that's my seat. Get out," Lauren said, her voice as cold as ice. "Hmm, no," He answered, his smirk was growing, he thought he had won. "Fine but just remember, I gave you chances," Lauren replied. Striding over to her seat, she shoved Malfoy with all her strength, which was quite a lot, and he fell on the wooden flooring. Smirking, Lauren took her seat and began conversing with Rue and Alex, leaving a startled Mafloy on the floor. Slowly, he got up, dusted himself off and took his usual seat, talking about how she couldn't want him and, of course, Pansy comforted him. "That was so funny," Rue gasped through fits of laughter. The food had appeared on the golden plates, from sassuages to cereals and Lauren had opted for scrambled egg and began tucking in immediately. "He never stops," Lauren complained, rolling her eyes at the scene that was taking place at the end of the table. "Don't worry about him, he'll get bored eventually," Alex assured her as the timetables were being handed out. Professor Slughorn, the house leader for Slytherin, was working his away around the table handing them out. He was a tall, skinny man with floppy, black hair and dull, brown eyes, he didn't really care for you, unless you were important or the child of important people, Lauren despised him. He was only kind to her because of her parents, he didn't even bother to figure out if she was a good student. He came to them next, he was wearing magenta robes with a gold design, that completely swamped his slender frame. "Right, Colt, Brunelle and Avea," He mumbled, sifting through his pieces of parchment, "Ah! He we go!" He exclaimed handing Rue's first, then Alex's and finally, Lauren's. All three girls looked down at their timetables, Rue looked excited, Alex looked bored and Lauren looked a mixture of both, double Herbology with the Ravenclaw's first. Lauren liked Herbology and they had a good teacher but the Ravenclaw's knew everything, they made you feel stupid and like you didn't belong there, mumbling their thanks they slid the timetables onto the table. "How's the family, Lauren?" Professor Slughorn asked. "Good thanks, sir," Lauren replied. "Excellent! Well, we'll have to catch up later! I've got time tables to hand out," He said and walked to the end of the table. "Hey, guys we've got double DADA after break!" Alex hissed. "Wonder who we'll have," Rue mused, her chocolate eyes glasing over. "We've got double potions last!" Lauren exclaimed, "with the Gryffindors!" Rue and Alex exchanged a look and smirked into their breakfasts. "What?" Lauren demanded, her brow furrowing. "You seem to like the Gryffindors," "Maybe you like one best," "Maybe you have a special Gryffindor," Lauren felt all the blood in her body rush to her cheeks, he went that special uncharted colour whenever Sirius was mentioned. "Shut up" Lauren snapped, still blushing. Rue and Alex sniggered into their empty plates and it look them about five miniutes to compose themselves. "Come on, let's go," Lauren suggested, standing up.

Striding off, she made Rue and Alex run to catch up with her, and didn't speak to them as they crossed the lush, green grounds and walked to the greenhouses for Herbology. The class greenhouses stood in rows, there were three ones, the sunlight would glint off the reflective surface, drowning all the plants inside. Herbology wasn't Lauren's favourite subject, but it wasn't her worst, History of Magic took that position, the teacher was a ghost who'd expereinced the goblin wars that he droned on and on about, half the class would be asleep and the tother half would be falling. As they approached the greenhouse, they slid the glass door across and entered. The smell of flowers hit them instantly, filling their nostrils with the sickly sweet scent, it was better than last year; they'd been growing flores for potions classm their way of combing the two classes and trying to make them interesting, and they had to be planted in dragon dung and considering that the greehouses were made of glass and sunlight was blaring on them all day it got very smelly, very quickly. Walking over to a table at the back, greeted with friendly smiles, maybe a little stuck-up from the Ravenclaw's, Lauren, Alex and Rue weren't typical Slytherins; they didn't have a problem with muggles or muggle-borns and they didn't care about blood status unlike some who'd prance around the school with their noses stuck in the air, looking down on everyone Salathiel came striding in, she was a small, plump woman who wore amber robes and thin, wired glasses on the bridge of her nose, she always wore a friendly smile on her face and had a permant blush creeping up her cheeks. Standing at the front, she commanded the attention of the class by clearing her throat loudly, Malfoy had taken the table next to them with Blaise, a tall, black boy with shaven, black hair and tunneling brown eyes, a short, stout boy with cropped, whispy hair and murkey eyes and a tall boy, who had cropped, black hair and blue eyes that looked bored constantly, Lauren didn't know their names. "Today Class we will be starting a new project!" Her smooth, comanding voice came,"We will be attempting to grow gillyweed, can anyone tell me what gillyweed is used for?" She asked, beaming. Of course, all of the Ravenclaw's hands shot straight into the air before she'd even finished her sentence. Tentively, Lauren raised her own hand, she was the only Slytherin with her hand in the air because the boys generally had no clue and the girls knew it was usless. "Yes, miss Chang," "Gillyweed is used for breathing underwater for an extended ammount of time, it only lasts for an hour but it gives you the abilities of aquatic creatures; your hands and feet become webbed to help you swin easily and you grow kills around your neck to help you breath," A short girl with long, silky black hair and pretty black eyes gushed. "Very good! 10 points to Ravenclaw! Like miss Chang rightly said, it gives you the abilities to move underwater without any of the normal restrictions humans have. Now, everyone grab a tray and fill it with the soil provided," Lauren walked to the front of the class, past Malfoy and Chang, picked up a plastic tray and walked back to her table, in Herbology nothing was ever as harmless at it seems, Lauren learnt that the hard way when she was tending to one of the flores bit her and she didn't stop bleeding for an hour. Cautiously, she put her hand into the bag of brown soil and pulled a handful out, once out of the bag, it dissolved and left Lauren with a liquid that she was desperatly trying to compare to runny chocolate and not runny something else. "Ew!" Pansy shreiked as the soil dissolved in her hand and trickled down her robe slieve. "You're suppose to pour the soil, Miss Colt and Miss Parkinson," Professor Salathiel told them, looking over the rims of her glasses. "Now she tells me," Pansy moaned and started cussing under her breath, all the Ravenclaw's looked slightly ammused, of course they all knew that you were suppose to pour. "That explains a lot," Lauren said, flicking her hand about. Pouring the soil instead, it filled the tray with a runny, brown liquid. Taklng a handful, making sure they were suppose to use their hands about ten times, Lauren sprinkled tiny, white seeds in her tray. The liquid began to ripple, the seeds slowly disappeared before their eyes and they were left with an ugly, there's no other word for it, poo coloured liquid that they left on the table. They had to do this several times, ammounting to at least fourty trays of the murkey liquid that were placed around the greenhouse. Rue seemed to be enjoying this very much, hanging on to Professor Salathiel's every word as if etching each one into her brain, Alex looked on with discust at the liquid and got very annoyed when Lauren flicked the liquid on her hand in her direction, she sulked for the rest of the lesson, standing back from the trays. It all balanced out though, because Rue helped with almost everyone in Slytherin's tray, they weren't finding this any where near as entertaining as Rue or the Ravenclaw's, so they gladly let her do it for them. The lesson droned on, Salathiel was talking about how the liquid would combine and form into gillyweed over a week and how they should be ready in a couple of lessons time, Lauren, only half listening, which was unusual for her, was staring out of the window wishing the seconds away. Rue on the other hand was taking mental notes on everything she said, Lauren was surprised her mind could retain that much information, watching her lips form the words as if that would help her absorbe them, it looked like she was in a trance. Finally, the bell rang from the school and the class was allowed to leave, bustling out of the door, the Slytherin's were pushing and shoving Ravenclaw's, Malfoy was immitating Chang, which she saw and looked like she was about to cry. He was jumping up and down on the spot, getting higher with each jump, his hand stuck as high as it would go into the air, making noises and shouting 'me,' every so often, the Slytherin's around him were shrieking with laughter, egging him on more. "Shut up Malfoy," Lauren snapped after watching Chang come close to tears, the Slytherin's around him looked at her and made 'ooh' noises, she scowled at them. "Better run along, Colt, I hear Sirius wants you," Malfoy snipped, Lauren thought her cheeks would blush but they didn't, it was her stomach where the heat hit. The Slytherin's around him howled with laughter while Lauren narrowed her eyes and scowled at him. She was about to retort when he spoke again, "Or didn't you know? Looks like bad boy Black has a bit more than a crush on you," Lauren's mind was spinning, she hated Malfoy for saying those things. "At least I don't have to make people close to tears to be like by my friends," Lauren snapped, then immitating his voice, she added,"or didn't you know?" Malfoys face contorted into a glower and he's pale hands balled into fists. "Why don't you run along to your boyfriend and plan a prank together," Malfoy hissed, pouting. "He's not my boyfriend," Lauren shot back, scowling. "Then he hasn't told you." The Slytherin's around him roared with laughted. "Why don't you run back to mummy and daddy? I'm sure they'll be able to threaten some people into being friends with you," Lauren snapped, warmth surging through her stomach. Alex was pulling at Lauren's school robe, hissing for her to leave it and go to break but she blocked her out. "How dare you talk about my parents like that!" Malfoy shouted, Blaise had to physically hold him back to stop him attacking Lauren. "What are you gonna go about it, Malfoy?" Lauren challenged, "can't hurt me with your little boyfriend holding you back, can you?" Lauren sneered. No one had left the greenhouses, after Lauren had stopped Malfoy teasing Chang, the Ravenclaw's had stayed behind and the rest of the Slytherin's were hanging around Malfoy like some loyal dogs. "Lauren that's enough," Alex told her, sternly,"You've made your point," "Better go, Colt. Sirius will be waiting for you, he wants you guys to flirt some more," Malfoy snipped. "Better go Malfoy, daddy's going to teach you the art of blackmailing and threatening," Lauren shot back, leaving a stunned Malfoy behind her, she spun around and stormed back up to the castle.

CHAPTER 6: A NEW DADA TEACHER

Fuming, she kept walking, not bothering to see if Rue and Alex we're following her. Eventually, the two girls caught up when Lauren was entering the tall, oak front doors, they led her to the lake to calm her down. The silver water was rippling and swirling in the light breeze, the silence was filled by the rustling of the trees and the sloshing of the lake. "Lauren, are you alright?" Rue asked cautiously. No one had ever seen Lauren that angry, sure she would get annoyed at him often and she would get angry at her brothers but that was minor things, it was banter between siblings, this was different. Lauren felt a burning hate for Malfoy that bubbled everytime they met, like a boiling saucepan. Inhaling and exhaling heavily, Lauren resumed her composure, opened her fists, attempted to cool her cheeks, through there wasn't much she could do about that, and began to relax. Closing her eyes, she focused on calming down, on not letting Malfoy provoke her, slowly, she felt all the anger drain out of her and she felt guilt replace it. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, holding her head in her hands. "It's completely understandable, I mean Malfoy was really out of order!" Alex answered, smiling. Sighing, Lauren stood up and started to walk back to the castle, leaving the silence and calmness of the lake far behind her. At least she had something to look forward to; they would discover who the new DADA teacher was soon. Walking through the gleeming entrance hall, they began to climb the staircases to get to the DADA room, after just two flights, Lauren's legs were aching and she was worring about what Malfoy would say. Any more snide comments about Sirius and she'd loose it, what was with those anyway? she thought as they climbed the last staircase and walked to the classroom. Pushing the wooden door open, she took a desk with Rue and Alex at the very back of the classroom, they were the first people here. The classroom was set out with four desks in each of the corners, the blackboard stretched right across the front wall and the teachers desk was placed in front of that. There was a cross of walkways to get to the cupboards, the front desk, the blackboard and to other tables. Just then, the door swung open and Malfoy and his croonies appeared, eviling Lauren, they took the table to their right and Lauren notcied Blaise was scowling more than the rest, even Malfoy. Pansy and Annabeth appeared last, taking the desk in front of the boys, no surprises there, and they all waited for the teacher to arrive. Blaise kept sending Lauren dirty looks from oppsite her, they were more bitchy than girls, and Lauren shot them straight back. It gradually got worse, so that by the time the teacher arrived, Lauren was so caught up in mouthing cusses to Blaise that she didn't notice. A tall, slim man stood in front of the class, his black, floppy hair was pushed out of his emerald eyes, his gaze was piercing. He was wearing emerald robes to match his eyes with a silver pattern on them. "Good morning class!" his voice was deep and smooth, "I'm Professor Silas and I'm your Defense against the Dark Arts teacher," There was a murming around the class, the students were eying him skeptically, he didn't look much older than Nick, Lauren's older brother and he was far more handsome in her opinion. "Shhh, please. Since I'm new, obviously I don't know your names, so if you answer a question please say your name before the answer," he beamed, turned around and the air was filled with the sound of chalk scraping across the blackboard. "Lauren's name will be said a lot," Blaise sniped and his table erupted into laughter. Lauren kept her gaze on the board, even though she would do anything to hit Blaise, she couldn't get into trouble just because of them. On the board, it say "Stuplify" in a neat, itallic scrawl. "Now, can anyone tell me what this spell does?" he asked. Lauren put her hand in the air and he smiled warmly at her, "Miss?"  
"Colt, sir." She answered, feeling the scowls of Malfoy and Blaise, he friends would join in but they probably couldn't spell scowl, let alone know what it was. "Colt, you say?" He asked, curiousity peaking his pale face. "Yes, sir. Stuplify is a stunning spell, it's to be used when you need more time, you simply stun the person and they recover about a minute later, depending on their built and the strength of the spell," Lauren answered, smiling shyly at him. "Very good. Now, today we will be attempting to master this spell, it's very important and can mean the difference between being unharmed and seriously injured," Silas went on, his emerald eyes gleeming. It was one of the longest lessons Lauren had ever sat through, she tired to ignore the snide comments coming from the Slytherin table everytime she asnwered something, she could feel scowls reaching her, eyes watching her everytime she moved, a couple of times she'd turned around and scowled back but this only made matters worse. Being scowled at for a hundred and fifty minutes was not how Lauren had expected her first day back to go, the only thought that got her through the agonising lesson was that she had double potions last with the Gryffindor's and that mean she would be with the marauders and Lily. The lesson was so painfully long, she'd considered making herself sick or pretending to have a headache, anything to escape the droaning of the teacher. Finally, the bell range and the class sighed in relief. "Sorry that took so long, next lesson we will be performing the spell, instead of just talking. Miss Colt, could I have a word please?" Professor Silas asked. "Sure, sir," Lauren said, turning around and walking back into the classroom. "We'll wait for you outside," Alex hissed and left. When everyone had filled out of the classroom, he closed the door and smiled warmly at Lauren. "I expect you don't remember me?" He asked, the smile still in place. "Er," Lauren replied awkwardly. There was something familiar to her about his floppy, black hair and striking eyes but she couldn't place him. "You were only young, I went to school with your brother, Nick," He replied. "You're only twenty one?!" Lauren gasped, then realising how rude that sounded, she rephrased it,"I didn't mean you looked old, I just meant that it's quite a young age for a teacher," Lauren stuttered. "I understand," he replied, chuckling,"Your brother studied to be an auror and I had always wanted to teach, then this job became avaliable and I took it," "Sorry, I don't remember," Lauren replied. "You were too young but I'm pleased to see you have Nick's brains," He told her, smiling. "Oh, er thanks. I don't want to sound rude but my friends are waiting...?" "Oh, of course! And Charlie's stomach," Silas commented. "Yeah," Lauren was about to leave, when a question popped into her head,"Have you told Nick you're teaching?" "Ah, Indeed I did, he was very pleased for me," Silas looked torn between something,"I probably shouldn't tell you this but you seem trustworthy, Nick did ask me to keep an eye on Mr. Black," "Sirius?" Lauren asked, looking confused. "More specifically, you and Mr. Black," Silas prompted, his emerald eyes blazing. "What did you say?" Lauren asked,"Sir?" she added. "I said I would," Silas answered, looking guilty,"Goodbye, Lauren," "Bye, Sir," She called."Typical Nick," Lauren muttered, clutching the handle, she opened the door and exited.

"What did he want?" Alex hissed when they were walking down the marble stairs to lunch. "He was at school with Nick," Lauren replied shrugging, she was debating whether to tell them about Sirius but since they weren't there over the summer, she would have to tell them all about and about how her family knew him, it would all take too long. "You didn't say!" Alex accused, her sea eyes focused on Lauren. "I didn't know, I expect Fred and George would've told me," Lauren replied. "That means he's only twenty one!" Rue gasped, her huge eyes widening. They crossed the gleeming, marble entrance hall and entered the great hall. Avoding eye contact with any of the fourth year Slytherin's, they took their seats at the table and began to pile their plates up with food. Lauren wasn't feeling very hungry, she kept thinking about what Malfoy had said in their argument, that 'she didn't know', what didn't she know and why was it so amusing to them all. Her teal eyes glazing over in thought, she ran the whole argument through her head, not even bothering to touch her food. Malfoy had said a lot about her and Sirius but that was just because they were best friends and Malfoy was jealous, wasn't it? On the bright side, Malfoy couldn't possibly fancy her anymore, all the things she had said about his family, she would be surprised if he didn't hate her by the end of the day. She would have to endure all the stares and comments through potions as well but at least she'd have Lily, the marauders, Rue and Alex for support. Massing her temples, she snapped out of her daze and started stabbing her food with the gold cutlery, the food never touched her lips but it did help her to imagine the food as Malfoy's face and stab it constantly. Her little game had become so much fun and was clearing her mood considerably that she hadn't noticed the rest of the Slytherin table staring at her, looking up, all the fourth years were staring at her as if she was mental. Grinning at their faces, she placed her fork down and drank some juice, her bad mood had almost vanished, she was ready for whatever potions was gonna throw at her. Any insult Malfoy could throw at her, she was ready to shoot one straight back, their glowers and scowls didn't effect her any more and by the time Rue and Alex had finished their lunch, she was smiling sweetly at Blaise, which seemed to infuriate him even more. Smiling to herself, she got up and walked over to the Gryffindor table where she recieved skeptical looks but no where near as bad as at the emerald table, funny, her supposed enemies were being nicer than her own house, walking over to where Fred and George were sitting, she pulled out a chair opposite, next to Sirius coincidently, and smiled at their shocked faces. "What on earth are you doing?" Fred asked, eyeing his sister suspiciously. "I believe I'm sitting," Lauren replied. "We can see that," "It's where you're sitting," "Urgh! Shut up, you two! I have something to tell you," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes at them. "What?" "You know the new DADA teacher, apparently he went to school with Nick," Lauren told them, pointing with her teal eyes up to the teachers table. "He is as well!" Fred exclaimed. "His names like S...," "Silas," Lauren told them. "Yeah!" "He's the new defence against the dark arts teacher?" George asked. "He's only, what, twenty one?" Fred added. "Yes and Yes," Lauren replied, smiling. "Does Nick know?" Fred asked, eyeing the man skeptically. "Yeah, he told him after he got the job. Which means Nick either knew and didn't tell us or he knew and forgot about it," Lauren told them, furrowing her brow. "I think you know why he didn't tell us, Lauren," George said, winking at his younger sister. Lauren rolled her eyes at him, which made him smirk. "I see Georgieeeee, good thinking," Fred told his brother. The marauders looked on confused but Lily had a small smile on her face but was trying to conceal it. "Shut up. Anyway, I just thought you guys would want to know," Lauren told them. "Did Nick ask him, Lauren?" George asked, smirking.  
"I bet he did," Fred added, mirroring his brothers' smirk. "Lily would like to know as well," George commented, seeing her smile. The marauders were looking between Fred, who was smirking, George who was also smirking, Lily, who was desperatly trying not to smile but failing and Lauren, who was scowling at her brothers. "I would not," Lily replied, grinning. "She would! She's grinning!" Fred exploded. Lily didn't even bother trying to deny it anymore, she just kept her piercing, emerald eyes on the wooden table draped in ruby. "I would too," "And me," "Why is it your business?" Lauren snapped, trying to stop the blush that was creeping up on her cheeks. "That means yes," Fred said, grinning. "Definetly a yes," George added, smirking. "Lily thinks yes as well," "Fine!" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes blazing with fury,"he asked him too," Lauren told them, blushing. "I knew it!"  
"That's why he didn't come to the station with us," "You mean, you guys didn't convince him not too?" Lauren asked, a smirk creeping on her lips.  
"No, why?" Fred asked. "Shut up, Fred!" George hissed, "Technically you said you'd do that if he came with us, which he didn't," "No, I don't believe those were my words," Lauren replied, grinning evily. "You were kidding, weren't you?" Fred asked, cottoning on. Lauren just laughed in reply, smirking, she stood up and walked back over to the emerald table. Before she went, she heard George whisper frantically to Lily,"she wasn't serious?" to which Lily just laughed and continued eating her lunch.

Alex, Rue and Lauren were deep in conversation about potions back at the Slytherin table, recieving more glowers and scowls from her fellow Slytherin fourth years. Lauren's bad mood had completely left, she was now smiling and laughing with her best friends, while Alex complained about potions, Lauren exclaimed she couldn't wait and Rue was a bit of both. The clean gold plates and cups were gleeming under the artifical sunlight that was draping everyone in the hall. Alex was complaining she didn't see the point of potions and that she couldn't waut to drop it, it's true that Alex wasn't going to be a potions master when she was older but she wasn't as bad as she'd like to make out; she could make a decent potion but she found it difficult trying to remeber all the ingredience and instructions for one potion, let alone the three they were suppose to know off by heart. Alex's best subject was DADA, she'd master the spells quicker than anyone else in the class and she could remember every spell they'd been taught since first year, Rue's best subject was Herbology, she was that kind of person, better at pratical things than academic, she knew all the names of the plants and what they were used for, Lauren was best at boomstick lessons, having played Quidditch since she was old enough to ride a boom, the lesson was a breeze for her, she would've been best at potions if Severus Snape wasn't in their lessons. Every potion he made was perfect, they always went exactly how they were meant to and looked exactly the same as in the textbook. Lauren, Alex and Rue were so caught up in their conversation about potions, that they didn't notice a girl approaching them. Clearing her throat to make herself known, the three girls spun around and the girl from their Herbology lesson was standing there, Lauren felt awkward because she didn't know her first name. "Hi, er, I just wanted to say thanks, for this morning," The girl muttered, smiling at them. "Oh, er that's alright," Lauren replied, returning the smile. "I'm Cho, by the way," "I'm Lauren, this is Alex and that's Rue," she told Cho, indicating to her best friends. "Nice to meet you all. Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate it and that I'm sorry you got into an argument with him for me," Cho told them, crimson creeping up her cheeks. "It's fine, I would've gotten into an argument with him anyway, he's not the kind of person you want as a friend," Lauren said, beaming at her. "Well, thanks and I guess I'll see you around," Cho told them spun around and then walked back to a group of girls standing by the entrance to the hall. "She seemed nice," Rue said as the bell chimed for them to go to lessons.

CHAPTER 7: THE WRATH OF A SLYTHERIN

Standing up, they crossed the entrance hall and desended into the dungeons. The dungeons looked dark and dingy, as always, and goosebumps climbed up her arms and legs and she walked along the corridor. Reaching the classroom, Lauren, Alex and Rue entered. The potions room was set out like normal; rows of five, pewter cauldrons with wooden desks situated next to them and metal stools, that were hardly ever used as they never had theory potion lessons, tucked underneath. A huge blackboard spread across the front wall, bits had been tinted grey with age, and the teachers desk placed slightly in front and to the right. The back wall was lined with wooden cupboards containing everything you'd need for any type of potion, from lumpy, yellow liquids to fine, grey powders to animals limbs, the sixth years used them mostly. Alex, Rue and Lauren took cauldrons next to each other in the back row, Malfoy, Blaise and Pansy took cauldrons in the row in front but Lauren just laughed it off; she could flick ingredients at them from here, when she told his to her friends, Alex looked happy and couldn't wait to start, Rue on the other hand muttered something about sinking down to their level and turned away. For some reason, Lauren could wait for the lesson to begin, she was ready for whatever insults they'd throw at her and, even though she couldn't control her blush, she was ready to control her emmotions and not let them get to her. The marauders and Lily took up the whole front row, that's the only thing Lauren was worried about, how Sirius would react to what they were saying about him, Lauren was sure Malfoy wouldn't say half the things he had before in front of him. In front of them, Pansy kept giggling at things Malfoy was saying, Blaise sort of half laughed, half smiled and Malfoy himself was looking as cocky as ever, she couldn't wait to wipe that smug smile off of his pale face. "Good morning, class!" Professor Greyson greeted, he was a tall, broad-shouldered man, with an angular face. His grey hair was cropped and styled, his deep, brown eyes appeared to see everything and he wore velvet robes crimson in colour. He was always wearing a friendly smile and was close friends with the marauders, from what Lauren could gather he was friends with James and his parents and therefore he got to know the marauders. "Today, we will be brewing the Felix potion, can anyone tell me what this potion does?" He asked. Lauren's arm shot right up, along with Remus's and Lily's, a few of the Slytherins eyed Lauren rudely but she simply smiled at them, making them angrier than before. "Miss Colt?" "The felix potion makes whoever has taken it happy, it is used mainly when someone is grieving or going through a tough time, although it makes the person feel happy when it's effects are working, it only lasts for a couple of hours and as soon as it's wore off, the person feels worse than before they took it. They use to use it when people were injured, to take their mind off the pain but it was banned soon after," Lauren gushed, smiling at Malfoy who was looking at her in disgust. "Very good, 10 points to Slytherin. Now, I want to stress that what Miss Colt said was absoluetly correct, it is not to be taken if you're feeling down or depressed, it will only make matters ten times worse. As she said, it was used in hospitals to help injured patients when the pain was excruciating but it was banned soon after because the person would feel worse about their condition and fall into a downward spiral. Because of this, I want you to all work in groups today, I know there isn't much space around the cauldrons but as long as everyone in the group is doing something, I'll be happy. I thought maybe we could have a bit of a competition between the class, there's twenty of you in here, so if we have ten on one side and ten on the other?" Most of the Slytherin's moved to the left all and of the Gryffindors moved to the right, Alex, Lauren and Rue joined the Gryffindors met with glowers and scowls from the rest of the Slytherin's. "Ah, Miss Colt, Miss Brunelle, Miss Avea, could you move with your fellow house members, please?" Professor Greyson asked them. Lauren opened her mouth to respond but Malfoy got there before her. "I'm not having them on our team!"  
"Good because we don't wanna be on your team!" Lauren shot back, both of them scowling at each other. Professor Greyson looked torn, he could either send Gryffindor's to the Slytherin side, which they would hate, or send the three girls over there, which they would hate too. "Would anyone from Gryffindor mind going to the other side instead of them?" he asked, looking doubtful. No one moved and silence filled the potions room, the Slytherin's were glowering at Lauren and she was smiling back. "Well you'll be at a disadvantage with seven to thirteen but If you're okay with it?" He asked the Slytherin's who nodded in response. "Okay, then! You have a hundred and fifty minutes, good luck!" Professor Greyson exclaimed. The two sides erupted in conversation, the Gryffindors and the three Slytherins gathered around the pewter cauldron, Lauren had never felt more out of place in her life, the Gryffindors kept sending them skeptical looks. "Why aren't you guys with them?" A short boy with floppy tawny hair and warm, honey eyes asked them. "Because Lauren decided it would be a good idea to open her mouth," Alex replied. "Oi! It wasn't that bad!" Lauren commented. "You offended his mother and his father and Malfoy himself and Blaise in one arguement," "Well when you put it like that, it does sound bad," Lauren said. "And now they all hate you guys?" He asked. "No, they all hate Lauren," "It is comforting having you around, Rue," she giggled and smiled, showing her pearly-white teeth. "Okay, I guess you guys are cool," he said, smiling. "Do you have a brother?" Lauren asked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "He's friends with my brother," Lauren replied, skimming the ingredients list. "Fred?" Lauren nodded,"He's cool," "He wouldn't be cool if you put him in a fridge," Lauren replied. "Anyway, how are we gonna do this?" Lily injected, gazing around at the group. "Well, It's not overly complicated but we can't have everyone gathered round," Remus added. "Okay, so you, Lily and Lauren will be making the actual potion?" James asked. "I think we can have more than three," Remus suggested. "I hate potions," Alex complained. "We know!" Lauren and Rue said together and smiled. "Who wants to make the potion?" Lily asked. "I think you, Remus and Lauren should," The tawny haired boy piped up. "Agreed," "Okay," "Why Lauren?" A small, blond-haired girl asked. "Because she's better at potion making than you," Rue snapped, her huge eyes blazing with anger. "Er, thanks Rue," Lauren answered eyeing her warily. Rue hardly ever lost her temper, he never even raised her voice, she always appeared cute and vulnerable. "Fiesty much?" Alex joked, poking her in the ribs. "I've still go nothing on Lauren," Rue replied and they both smirked. "Oi!" Lauren snapped making them snigger. "Okay, Sirius, James and Peter, you chop the ingredients," Remus said, being careful not to call them by their nicknames. "The rest of you help wherever you can," Lily instructed and walked over to the nearest pewter cauldron, Remus and Lauren followed her, they read the instructions and planned how they were gonna do it. Lauren heard the Slytherin's snigger and she couldn't help but feel that it was at her expense, glancing over, she saw Malfoy wink at her and turned her head back to the cauldron. "What are you guys doing?" Sirius asked, walking over. Lauren couldn't help but feel dread in her body, not towards him but towards what the Slytherin's would say, if they made any jokes about him being her boyfriend it might make him weary of being around her and then their friendship would be ruined. Surely Malfoy wouldn't risk it, Sirius had the height advantage, a good few inches, and he looked more athletic, Malfoy was lanky. "Thought you were chopping?" Lauren asked, scanning the textbook. "I got bored," Sirius shrugged and read over her shoulder. "Don't. Read. Over. My. Shoulder." Lauren warned him, taking a step back Sirius stood in the empty space by the cauldron.  
"Sirius, you can't just get bored, go back to chopping," Lily told him, an edge to her voice. "Merlin! What's got your knickers in a twist?" "They have Snape!" Lily hissed, her eyes widening. "So?" "So, Sirius, he's an amazing potion maker," Lauren explained, rolling her eyes at him. "Is he?" "Have you been in the last potions lessons?" Lauren snapped, reading a page about the order of the ingredients. "Obviously, I didn't really take any notice of him," Sirius replied. "You're doing it again, Sirius!" "What?" "Reading over my shoulder!" "Sorry," "Just go back to chopping, Sirius," Lily told him, it didn't sound like she was giving him a choice.  
"But it's boring!" he wined. "Peter and James aren't complaining," Lily snapped, her green eyes flaring. "No, believe they were fighting last time I checked," Sirius said. Lily lifted her emerald eyes from the textbook book she was reading and glanced to where they were working, James was telling Peter how to chop and Peter was complaning that James was nagging him. "Dear, dear dear, two of your team are fighting, two flirting, it's not going very well," A cruel voice came, Malfoy had walked over to their cauldron, Lauren didn't need to ask who the 'flirting' people were, she knew he meant her and Sirius. "It's better than having a group of idiots who can scowl at me but not even spell it!" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes flaring with anger. "Touchy today aren't we?" "Stupid today aren't we? Oh, no, I'm sorry, you're stupid everyday," Malfoy looked shocked, the smirk had vanished from his face, Lauren's lips pulled into a smirk, she'd wiped it from Malfoys face. "Whatever," He muttered and stalked off. "You are a bit fie-" Sirius was about to call her fiesty but she'd shot her eyes in his direction and raised her eyebrows at him.  
"Chop!" Lily instructed him and reluctantly, he'd walked back over to the wooden table. "Okay, now we need to start this potion," Remus said, looking worried. Lily walked over to where James, Peter and, finally, Sirius were chopping, her fiery hair flying out behind her, she was arguing with Sirius, Peter was just sort of standing there awkwardly and James was trying to keep her calm. Lauren thought it would be best to try and help James, since the task was near impossible. "Sirius I don't care if you're bored," Lily snapped, "We can't do anything until you've chopped the ingredients!" "I don't want to!" Sirius replied, sulking. "Look, guys I think everyone-" "No James! You're not getting Sirius out of this one!" "Lily! I refuse!" "NO! That's not an option! Chop!"  
"No!" "Sirius, chop!" "Lily-" "You're not defending him too!" "No, I'm not but I'm not shouting at him either, because that's not helping anyone. I'll chop it, like you said we can't do anything until their chopped," Lauren replied, calmly. "Fine, you chop and I'll go back to Remus," Lily replied, turning around, she walked back. "How'd you do that?" James asked. "It's one of my talents," Lauren replied, smiling. "I thought she was gonna kill padfoot," James said. "Me too. You really shouldn't push her like that, Sirius," "But choppings boring!" Sirius replied. "Urgh, shut up. Move." Lauren told him. She moved behind the wooden desk where Sirius had been standing, picked up the silver knife and started chopping the ingredients, Lauren had nearly chopped everything in the time it had taken Sirius to chop one. Sirius was standing behind her, internally he was admiring how fast she worked, she looked beautiful under the dim lighting of the candles, her eyes shone and her sliky hair gleemed. "Sirius," "What?" He asked, snapping out of his daze. "You have a thing of looking over peoples shoulders?" "Sorry," "You're still doing it," "How can you tell?" "Another talent," After most of the lesson had passed, Professor Greyson had called everyone to a hault and told them, finished or not, they had to put some of their potion into a glass tube where he would judge the best one. Spooning the indigo liquid into the tube, Lily took it up to his desk and placed it in the holder. Snape did the same moments later, the Slytherin's all looked extremely pleased with themselves and their potion. Professor Greyson deliberated for ages, walking around the tubes, umming and arring at the potions, picking out the good points and the bad but finally he stopped pacing and faced the class. "Both potions were very good, they would've been approved for use had we been selling them or taking them. There is one winner though, and that winner is the group with...13 people!" The Gryffindors and three Slytherins cheered and broke into huge smiles, the other Slytherin's were scowling at them. "You all may pack up now, please put away the things properly," Lauren walked over to Alex and Rue who were both smiling, Lauren gathered up the emerald textbooks and went to put them away at the back of the class. She felt Malfoy's cold scowl baring down on her but she didn't care, they'd won. Slotting the textbooks into the wooden cupboard, Lauren saw a flicker of a smile cross Malfoy's face. Confused, Lauren walked back over to where the marauders, Lily, Rue and Alex were waiting for her, she pulled out a metal stool and sat next to Lily, who was beaming. Letting her mouth pull into a small smile, she turned to look at Blaise, who also had the ghost of a smile on his face; they were planning something. Lauren's mind began to race, what were they planning? Her good mood vanished instantly, she couldn't be happy knowing they were going to do something, something that would hurt her or humilaite her, something to get her back for what she'd said. Maybe she should've kept her mouth shut, but if she had than Cho would've been in tears, she would've been even more upset, no, she did the right thing. Whatever Malfoy had for her, she could take, she was old enough to take care of herself, it couldn't be that bad, could it? Sure, it be embarassing but only for a while, all she had to deny what Malfoy would say, of course she'd deny it, it would just be about her feelings for Sirius, it would be lies. The only reason she blushed was because it was embarassing, since they were best friends it was awkward, that's why she blushed. "I'm very pleased with your work today class, although some of you could've tried harder," He gaze fell upon Sirius,"Overall, I'm pleased with the progress you've made," Professor Greyson told them. The bell rang to signal the end of the day; if Malfoy was gonna do something, it would be now. Lauren tried to shrug Sirius and his fellow marauders off, it would be easier to cope with whatever Malfoy was going to do or say without them around but they waited for her, as did Lily, Rue and Alex while she pretended to be clearing away. Grabbing her material bag and slinging it over her shoulder, Lauren exited the classroom with them all, dreading whatever was on the other side of the wooden, classroom door. Cautiously, Lauren stepped out into the dingy, cold corridor and was met with Malfoy. "What, Malfoy?" Lauren snapped as he blocked her way. The others had stopped on the otherside of Malfoy as Lauren had been the last one out and that's who he wanted. "You know every Slytherin fourth year hates you, except for those freaks," He told her, pointing to Rue and Alex. "You assume I care?" Lauren retorted. "Of course you care, anyway, that's not what I wanted to ask you," Malfoy replied. "Yeah, because I want a bunch of idiots like you for friends. Why did you want to ask me?" Lauren asked, in a bored voice. "Well, I doubt your friends will want to hear," "Well we're not leaving her here with you," Alex snapped, Lauren couldn't see her friends that clearly, the dungeons were so dark, all she could see were their shadows but she could see see Malfoy smirking. "What do you want to ask me, Malfoy?" Lauren hissed, hoping he would whisper too. Lauren's fists were clenched, her heart felt like it was trying to tear out of her chest and her forehead was dampened with sweat, even through it was freezing down here. "I really don't think you want your friends to hear, I don't think you've told them," "We're not leaving her and that's final," Lily snapped. "They don't know, do they, Lauren?" Malfoy sneered, he was clearly enjoying this. "Know what?" Rue asked. "Tell me, did she ever tell you whatever happened between her and Regulus? Why they were friends one day and then the next day they weren't speaking. It never occured to you as odd?" "Malfoy," Lauren's pleading voice came. He ignored her. "Did she?" "Well, no but-" "I thought friends weren't suppose to keep secrets, Lauren?" Malfoy sneered. "Whatever it is, she probably had a good reason to not tell us," Lily said, her voice dripping with anger at Malfoy. "Hmm, I can see why she would want to keep it from you guys, whether it's a good reason or not, I'll leave that to you guys to decided," "Malfoy, why are you doing this?" Lauren asked. "You shouldn't have insulted me, or my parents or Blaise," Malfoy replied. "Look, Malfoy we don't wanna know-" "Don't you? I think the marauders want to or maybe they've been stunned into silence, I think the topic of Sirius' little brother is quite touchy," Malfoy commented. "Whatever it is, it won't change anything," James sniped through the dim light. "Oh, I think it might, I think there's enough tention now," Malfoy was right, the tention was almost tangiable, the only sound that filled the gaps between the conversation were the shallow breaths of the nine of them. "Malfoy, don't," "Deary me, Lauren. That's the trouble with secrets; they all come out in the end," "Malfoy,"  
"Do be quiet, Lauren. I'm trying to built the silence," "Malfoy-" "The reason Lauren and Regulus broke friends that night in second year and have never spoken since was because Regulus asked Lauren out,"

CHAPTER 8: SOMETIMES SECRETS ARE BEST KEPT THAT WAY

The silence was deafening, the stunned silence, Lauren would've prefered it if everyone was shouting at her, shouting because she didn't tell them but they were silent and Lauren had never hated silence more. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest, she thought everyone could hear it, she couldn't take it anymore. The silence, the constant silence. Lauren felt liquid falling down her cheeks, she couldn't remember the last time she'd cried but it didn't matter, her friends would hate her now, it was inevitable. Hiking her material bag higher on her shoulder, she glowered at Malfoy. "I hope you're happy," Lauren hissed, not trusting her voice to go any higher. Turning on her heels, she sprinted down the dungeon corridor, avioding looking at Malfoy or her friends, and ran to the common room. Whispering the password she clambered through the hole, ran through the common room, up the stairs and into her dormitory. Collapsing on her bed, she pulled the emerald drapes around her and put a charm surronding her in a silent bubble. This was worse, she wanted people to shout at her, she'd be glad for them to leacture her on how she should've told them, on being a good friend, but no. Silence was her only friend at the moment, she wasn't sure how her friends had reacted, she'd bolted out of there before anyone had the chance to say anything. She was wrong, she couldn't take care of herself, she'd let herself have a weak spot, a vulnerable point and look what happened, he'd used it against her. Lauren cocooned herself in the warm douvet, when Regulus had asked her out, she didn't think of telling anyone, how could she tell Sirius, that the brother he loathed, had asked her out. Instead, she burried it inside and found it easier to tell none about it. Thinking about the memory was like reliving it, burring her face in the crisp, white cover, she tried to concentrate on something else but that always seemed to be there, no matter how hard she tried, it stayed. These thoughts swimming inside her head, she let the warmth and comfort consume her and she fell asleep.

MEANWHILE

"You really are foul you know that, Malfoy!" Alex snapped, drawing her wand and advancing on him.  
"Alex, don't do something you'll regret," Rue cautioned. Drawing her own wand, Lily strode up to Malfoy and held it up to chest hight. The two girls were pointing their wands at a smirking, triamphant Malfoy, he was clearly very pleased with himself which made them even angrier. Lily's cheeks were the same colour as her hair, the hand that was gripping the wand was holiding it tightly, her other hand was clenched so tightly the skin stretching over her knuckles was white. "Lily, Alex-" James started. "Shut up," Lily snapped, taking everyone by surprise,"Malfoy's gonna pay for what he did," "Great, maybe you could be thinking of that when you're expelled," James shot back, standing his ground. Sirius couldn't speak, he didn't know what he was feeling, he felt like someone had just winded him but apart from that he felt nothing; no anger, no resentment, no annoyance, nothing. His insides had frozen, his fists were clenched, everyone was looking on Malfoy with disgust, Lauren was their friend, he'd hurt her, he'd hurt them all. "James, he did it on purpose, you saw how hurt she was. I can't just let him get away with it," Lily responded. "Well, I can't let you get expelled by yourself," James said, stepping forward and pointing his wand at Malfoy's throat. A frightened look flickered across his pale face, Malfoy was backed up against the dungeon wall with three wands pointed at him. Attempting to get his own wand, Malfoy shuffled around, rolling it around in his fingers, he pulled it out and pointed it straight at Lily. "Expellarmous!" Malfoy's wand went shooting out of his pale hand and landed on the other side of the dunegons. Everyone turned to see Rue with her wand drawn and pointed to Malfoy's hand. Smiling, she lifted her arm up, she had to stretch it nearly vertical because Malfoy was several inches taller, and pointed it at his heart. "Can everyone just be logical for a minute?" Lupin injected,"do you all want to be expelled because of him?" "Remus, answer me this, just this, have you ever seen Lauren cry?" Lily asked. "No, I haven't," He answered, honestly. "When she sprinted out of here, she was crying, I saw her. I've never seen her cry, not once. Not even as a scared first year, this was the first time I've seen her," Lily replied, trying to keep the anger she felt towards Malfoy out of her voice. "Plus, people put hexes on others all the time and they're not expelled," James added. "Have you guys even thought about what spell you're gonna put on him?" Remus asked. The silence that followed told Remus they hadn't and he continued, "There's no point being expelled for him, think about it. Lily if you got expelled you'd have to go back to your muggle family, you'd have to live with them, go to a normal school," "I wouldn't be expelled though! I'm not talking about using an unforgivable, I'm just saying a hex," Lily replied. "Exactly, we'd get detentions but we wouldn't be expelled," James added. "They'd give me, Rue and Lily only one detention because we've never had one," Alex commented. "I'd risk one detention for revenge," Rue admitted, her huge eyes glittering with fury. "James, Alex, Lily! Rue, do you think Lauren would want this?" Lupin asked. "I think if it was one of us, she'd do the same," Rue replied. "No! You guys don't have to do this! Rue, Alex, listen to me, If Lauren was here, she'd tell you the same thing I'm telling you right now!"  
"She would do the same for me," "No! Rue, don't do this! Sirius help me!" Remus spun around to rely on his best friend for support. "I think Remus is right, as much as I'd love to hex Malfoy, Lauren's somewhere, I'd rather make sure she's alright than hex him," Sirius replied. At these words everyone lowered their wands, Lily was the last one, she still had her wand drawn, ready to hex him. A smirk was plastered on Malfoy's pale face again as he watched Rue, Alex, James and Lily pocket their wands. "Let's go find her," Rue said, already halfway down the corridor. "Not gonna hex me then?" Malfoy sneered, "I knew you guys didn't have it in you-" James had swung round and punched Malfoy in the face, making him fall backwards and up against the wall he was pinned against not two seconds ago. "What? He was annoying me," James defended, a smirk pulling on his lips. "Let's find Lauren," Lily suggested. "I think I know where she went," Alex commented and walked down the dingy corridor.

Reaching the portraite hole, Rue whispered the password and they all clambered inside, the dim common room was desserted and James thought it looked very dark and uninviting compared to the Gryffindor one. Sirius was about to climb up the marble stairs leading to the girls dormitories when Remus tugged at his robe slieve and stopped him. "Remus, this isn't the time for morals," Sirius told him. "No, It's not that, when a boy tries to get into the girls dormitories in any house, the stairs covert into a slide," Remus explained. "But Lily's been in ours loads of times," James injected. "It doesn't work that way, girls are allowed to go to boys dorms but boys can't go to girls ones," Lily replied. "How is that fair?" James exclaimed. "Hogwarts is old fashioned, you guys'll have to stay here," Lily told Sirius, James and Lupin, Peter had left before them and gone to the dormitory. "Fine," James replied. "Oh and don't be seen, only Slytherin's are suppose to be in here," Rue added before climbing up the pink, marble staircase with Lily and Alex behind her. Gliding alone the corridor, they reached the wooden door that said 'Slytherin 4th Years', clutched the cold, brass handle and entered. Closing the door behind them, they checked that Pansy and Annabeth weren't there. The three of them stopped dead, the emerald drapes were pulled around Lauren's bed, she had curled the duvet around herself and must've put some sort of charm on her bed because she didn't stir when they approached her. Her chestnut hair was spread over her pure white pillow and she'd burried her face in the duvet. "Lauren?" Rue hissed, taking a step closer to her bed. She came into contact with something hard and fell back onto the fluffy carpet. Startled, Rue looked up to see what she'd bumped into but nothing was there, she hadn't walked into anything. "Are you alright?" Alex asked, helping her best friend up. "I think so," Rue replied, rubbing her forehead. "Lauren's put a charm around her," Lily told them grimly. "Like a bubble?" Alex asked, speading her hands out in front of her and trying to feel where it started. "Exactly, we can't do anything until she wakes up," Lily replied, her emerald eyes brimming with diappiontment. "And this bubble, it's blocking the sound out?" Rue asked, searching for a sign for it. "Yeah, since she cast it and she knows exactly what spell she used, she's the only one who can reverse it," Lily explained. "But we could try and work out which one, couldn't we?" Rue asked, anxious to talk to Lauren. "Lauren knows tons of spells, it'd be hard enough trying to figure out which one she used from the ones we've learnt but since she's taught herself loads at home, it's basically impossible," "There can't be that many bubble spells, surely?" Rue asked, desperate. "Rue, I want to talk to her to, so does Lily but I'm afraide we're just gonna have to wait until she wakes up," Alex soothed. "But I need to talk to her! I want her to know that I'm not mad at her, that I understand why she lied!" Rue exclaimed. "We do too but we'll just have to wait, I'm sorry but we can't do anything until then," Lily replied, smiling apologetically at Rue. "What if she doesn't wake up until nine?" Rue asked. "Then we wait here until nine," Lily replied, smiling warmly. Rue sighed. "Okay," Rue replied, smiling. "Now, I've got to go and tell the others, they certainly can't wait in the common room and it's impossible for them to get up here. I guess they'll just have to go to their dorm," Lily told them, exiting the dorm. Lily walked along the marble corridor and down the steps to where Remus, Sirius and James were waiting. "We're gonna have to wait until she wakes up,-" "What do you mean?" Sirius injected. "Well, if you'd let me speak, Lauren's put some charm around her, I don't know what one but it basically seals her in a bubble and she's the only one who can reverse it. "Couldn't we try and work out which one she's used?" Sirius asked. "We could but there are so many, you know what Lauren's like; she knows tons of spells! It would be quicker and easier to wait until she wakes," "There must be something we can do," Sirius responded. "There's not," Lily snapped,"You think I don't wish I could do more than just sit around waiting? You think I don't feel useless?"  
"So we just have to sit around?" Sirius snapped. "No, you guys have to go back to your dormitory," Lily replied. "What?! Why?!" "Because, Sirius, you can't stay here, the Slytherin's would kill you. You can't come up to the girls dorms and there's no where else for you guys to go," Lily replied. "That's not fair," Sirius complained. "Look, I'm sorry but nothing can be done," Lily told him. "Padfoot, Moony, Let's go. I'll see you later Lils," "Yeah, see you later," Lily walked back up the stairs and slipped into the dorm as quickly as she could to aviode being caught. Rue and Alex were sitting on the bed next to Lauren in deep conversation, Lily crossed the room and joined them. "How'd they take it?" Alex asked, it was obvious she'd heard Sirius shouting. "Sirius took it badly as I'm sure you heard but I think James and Remus took it alright," Lily replied. "Lily," Rue started, her chocolate eyes wide,"Sirius, he, well he, feels, for her," Rue stuttered. "He feels for her?" Alex asked laughing. "Shut up, it's an awkward question to ask and I didn't see you asking," Rue replied, her cheeks going a little red. "You've got to promise not to tell anyone," Lily told them, no trace of humour on her face. "I promise," "Promise,"  
"Now, I know Lauren is your friend, she's mine too and it's been torture not telling her but you can't," Lily commented. "We won't," Rue said, scooting forward on the bed. "Yes, Sirius feels for her," Lily whispered, smiling. Rue giggled. "Why hasn't he asked her out yet?" Rue asked. "I don't know, I think he's scared she won't like him back," Lily replied, her eyes glazing over in thought. "I didn't think Gryffindor's got scared," Rue replied, smiling. "Rue, everyone gets scared sometimes, the difference is the people who will admit it and the people who won't," Lily answered, returnig the smile. It was easy to forget that Rue wasn't the same age as her, Lily thought of Rue as a younger sister, the way she spoke, they way she acted, it was easy to see her as an eight year old rather than fourteen. "I knew he fancied her," Alex added smirking. "You did not!" Rue replied. "I did! You can see it in the way he looks at her," Alex shot back. "It is true that he sometimes makes it obvious but Lauren's oblivious," Lily replied, gigling. "I feel sorry for him, I mean eventually they will date right?" Alex asked. "I don't know, there is every chance they will date, yes," "Well she has five brothers, that's gonna be hell," Alex explained. "I think Nick will be the problem, the rest of them will just tease her," Lily replied. "I think her and Sirius will make a cute couple," Rue commented, smiling. "Yes, hopefully he'll tame her fiestyness," Alex said and her face broke into a huge smile. "I think that's what he likes about her," Lily replied, smiling.  
"Could we meddle?" Rue asked, a meschivious glint in her huge, chocolate eyes. "No, you guys aren't even suppose to know, I'm not even suppose to know," Lily told them. "He didn't tell you?" Rue asked.  
"No, the only person he told was James but I heard them talking about it one night and when I questioned James, he told me," Lily replied, smiling. "Does Lauren like Sirius?" Alex asked. "I think she does but she's in denial to herself," Rue answered. "I'm with Rue, I think she does but she doesn't want to admit it," Lily told them. "Will he ask her out this year?" "I think that was his plan," Lily replied.

CHAPTER 9: MALFOY, SIRIUS BLACK AND THE GREAT HALL.

Lauren stirred in her bed, her eyelids fluttered open and she stretched. Rue, Alex and Lily ran over to her, careful not to run into the spell, and smiled. Waving her wand, the bubble disappeared and Rue lanched herself at Lauren knocking her back down. Rue beamed at her, they both sat up on Lauren's bed and Lily and Alex joined them. Rubbing her eyes, Lauren smiled at her friends; before she went to sleep she wasn't sure whether she'd had any friends left and waking up and seeing them all there was the best feeling in the world. Rue was positively beaming, her huge, chocolate eyes shining in the candle light, her teeth pure white against her dark, full lips and her dimples were the deepest Lauren had ever seen them. Alex and Lily, although more reserved than launching themselves at her, seemed just as happy as Rue, both of the smiling at her. "You guys aren't mad then?" Lauren asked, smiling at her best friends. "No! IwantedtotellyouthatIdidn'tblameyouforlyingandthat Iwould'vedonethesamebutyouweresleeping," Rue gushed, in one breath. "We all want to tell you that we don't blame your for lying," Lily replied, smiling. "How did the others take it?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes sparkling in the setting sun. "Lauren, no ones angry at you. We wanted to tell you sooner but you put a charm around yourself and we didn't know which one you'd used," Alex told her, smiling. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Lauren replied, blushing. Lauren now realised how stupid she'd acted, thinking her friends would leave her alone just because she'd lied but she was caught in the moment, all sorts of thoughts were filling her head at that time. She was just happy to see that her friends didn't resent here for lying to them, the fact that they understood lifted Lauren's spirits even higher. "Don't be, what Malfoy did was foul," Alex replied. "What happened to Malfoy?" "Well, me, Alex, Rue and James were going to hex him but then Sirius stopped us," Lily explained. "He did want to hex him but he thought getting to you was more important," Rue added, smiling. For some reason, Lauren's stomach fluttered at this imformation, she was just relieved that Sirius wasn't mad at her, Regulus after all was his brother and he'd have a right to know, of course the others not being angry mattered too. "Oh, Okay. Listen guys, I know I should've told you but Regulus took it badly when I said I couldn't go out with him," Lauren started, not meeting her friends gaze,"and he called me...," Lauren sighed, massaging her temples. "He called you what?" Rue asked, sympathy swimming in her massive, brown eyes. Lauren's hands were dancing over one another in her lap, she kept her diamond, teal eyes fixed on the floor. "Lauren, It's okay. You can tell us, we're not gonna go and kill him, maybe hex him," Lily told her, smiling sweetly, "If anyone knows what it's like to be called a name, I do," "He called me, well he was angry and I don't think he would've said this at any other time, I guess I really am oblivious," Rue, Alex and Lily exchanged a smirk but Lauren didn't see. She took a deep breath,"he called me a blood-traitor," "He what?!" Alex shouted, her hands were clenched and she'd jumped up. "Alex, calm down," Rue soothed. "Calm down?!" Alex shouted, fuming. "Everyone just stop for a minute, I doubt we're making Lauren feel any better, Alex please sit down. Lauren trusted us with this, the least we could do is talk before you murder him," Lily told them, her piercing gaze on Alex. "Fine," Alex said reluctantly and took her seat back on the bed. "He called you a blood-traitor?" Rue asked, her huge eyes full of sadness. "Yeah," Lauren whispered. "That's horrible! You guys were suppose to be best friends and then he calls you that!" Alex hissed, her sky eyes glittering with anger.  
"I'm sorry, Lauren. I know what it's like to be called names like that," Lily soothed, smiling. "Thanks. It just, it hurt more coming from him, I didn't tell anyone," "Well, this is not how I thought the first day would go," Alex commented. "Tell me about it," Lauren scoffed. "We have to tell the others!" Rue exclaimed. "No!"  
"Why not, Lauren? They have a right to know, he's Sirius' brother!" "Do you know what happened between them?" Lauren asked, a lot calmer than Rue. "Well, no but-" "Exactly, Sirius and Regulus hate each other, proper hate. They haven't spoken since Regulus got sorted into Slytherin, I really don't want to add fuel to the fire," Lauren told them. "How do you know, Sirius never told me," Lily asked, looking a bit hurt. "I don't exactly know, we just kind of talked and then he told me about him and Regulus," Lauren explained. "He hasn't even told James," Lauren just shrugged. She thought it was quite stange how he's told her and not his best friend but he probably hadn't meant to tell her, she guessed he'd just wanted to get it off his chest. "Speaking of them, we should probably tell them that Lauren's awake," Alex suggested. Lauren really didn't want to see them, especially Sirius, even though they'd said he wasn't angry at her, Lauren found that hard to believe. "We'll see them at dinner," Lauren told her three friends. "I don't know, Sirius will kill us," Alex warned, a smirk pulling at her lips.  
"If that's what Lauren wants," Lily injected. "Well, can we go to dinner than?" Rue asked. "No, it's only six," Alex replied, smirking. "Alex, why are you smirking at me?" Lauren asked, eyeing her friend suspiciously. "Did you ever think that maybe Sirius isn't angry at Regulus just for their fight-" "No, I've never thought that and neither should you," Lauren snapped. Lily, Alex and Rue tried to surpress giggles but it didn't work and soon the three girls were in fits of laughter with Lauren scowling at them.

When seven o'clock approached, Lauren felt the same fluttering in her stomach she had yesterday, when she arrived at Kingscross Station. She was nervous to what the marauders would feel towards her; she was sure Peter would just agree with whatever James said, as ususal, Remus would be completely fine, he couldn't hate someone if he tried, but what would James and more importantly Sirius feel, what why was Sirius more important? 'It was because of Regulus,' Lauren told herself as she brushed her matted hair for dinner. Lauren felt like she was going to be sick any moment, her head was buzzing and she felt like her stomach was doing summersults. Hopefully, they would all forgive her, realise why she did what she did and they'd all be friends again, it sounded too good to be true but she guessed only time would tell. Lily had left shortly after half six, if she was caught in the Slytherin dorms everyone would have a fit, plus they didn't know if Pansy and Annabeth would be back soon. Slowly, Lauren put down her hairbrush, she'd been brushing the same stands of hair for about five minutes, and turned to face her friends who were waiting by the door. Walking over to them, she checked her reflection once more, she didn't really care but was buying time, and headed out into the marble corridor. Tagging behind slightly, they clamboured up from the cold, dark dungeons and out into the bright, gleeming entrance hall. Her palms were sweating, her stomach was fluttering, this was it. Lauren couldn't remember even feeling this nervous before in her life, not even before Quidditch matches, which was the only example her mind could think of. Feeling the stares of the Slytherin's on her as she walked in, she didn't even glance at the Gryffindor table, instead she kept her teal eyes glued to the floor and hurried over to her seat. The familair platnium haired boy was watching her as she piled food onto her gold plate, not intending to eat, not sure if she could, but just to appear to be acting normal. Something was different though, she had the urge to smile at Malfoy, to show him that he hadn't won. Sliding her eyes over to where he was sitting, she saw the characteristic smirk plastered on his pale face and smiled at him, a sarcastic smile, meaning nothing but 'you haven't won,' his smirk fell and grew into a scowl and she simply smiled more. Feeling like her old self again, she began to eat. "Are you okay?" Rue asked, noticing her smiling at Malfoy. "Never better," Lauren replied, her teal eyes shining in the eerie, yellow glow of the candles. 'pop' The goblets full of pumpkin juice appeared but they exploded, showering the whole of the Slytherin table in orange, sticky juice. Pansy shrieked, Malfoy scowled, Blaise swore but Lauren, Alex and Rue just laughed. Rue's huge, chocolate eyes warm, her pure white teeth showing, Lauren's eyes shining more than usual, Alex's blond, curly hair bouncing off her shoulders. "Colt!" came a familair icy voice. Lauren stood up, turned around and pulled her best innocent look, making her eyes wide, her eyebrows raised and her head slightly tilted. Malfoy was standing there, his normal white-blond hair tinted orange, Blaise behind him, his huge eyes flecked with fury and Pansy, who was scowling so firecley that it made the prettiness of her face disappear. "Yes?" Lauren asked, trying her upmost not to laugh. "This is all your moronic boyfriends doing!" Malfoy spat, his stormy eyes furious. Lauren sighed dramatically. "I keep telling you Malfoy, he's not my boyfriend," Lauren answered, in a exasperated voice. Blaise sneered, Pansy was shooting Lauren daggers and Malfoy's fists were clenched, his jaw was tight and his stormy eyes were glowing with fury. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You only like to hurt boys, make them fall for you and then dump them," Malfoy sniped.  
"At least I don't have to date a slut just to get someone," Lauren shot back, making Pansy's emerald eyes turn acidic green. Pansy took a step forward but Blaise put a muscly arm out to stop her. "Bit rich," he sniped, Lauren took a step forward, all of the Slytherin table were too busy trying to clean themselves. "What's that suppose to mean?" Lauren spat, her eyes flaring. "Well, my recollection was that bad boy Black was a player; he'd date girls, get bored and dump them. I just wouldn't want that happening to you," he pulled a thoughtful face,"actually I would," Blaise and Pansy sneered with laughter, Lauren didn't realise people could sound so evil with something as innocent as laughing. This comment hurt her more than it should've, it shouldn't of effected her, after all he wasn't insulting her but it did, it hurt more than any jibe about her family or herself ever could. "Speaking of Sirius," Lauren started, trying to keep her voice level,"there's a broom cupboard on the second floor of Gryffindor tower, I mean I know it's meant to be his and everything," Lauren rolled her eyes and quoted with her fingers," but I'm sure he'd let you and Blaise borrow it," Lauren replied, as cooly and calmly as she could manage. The effect of these words was immediate, two more fourth year Slytherin's had showed up and were trying to hold Blaise back, Pansy had grabbed Malfoy's arm and was trying to stop him from advancing on Lauren and the Slytherin's, having noticed the commotion, were gathering around them. Alex was to Lauren's left and Rue to Lauren's right, she'd never seen them look so evil, they were both glowering at Malfoy and his gang with they were returning. The rest of the hall was too busy watching the marauders getting shouted at by professor MaGonagal, and watching them trying to deny everything. "You what?" Malfoy asked, glowering. "You heard me," Lauren replied, an icy whisper. Blaise had tried to advance on Lauren again, the two fourth years were struggling to hold him and were looking desperatly around for older students to help. "Where is he then? Sirius Black, left you all alone to defend yourself," Malfoy teased, smirking. "I'm right here," his voice came, Lauren's heart lept,"and I don't think she needs us to help, she's owning you perfectly on her own," "I was asking talking to Malfoy," Lauren spun around and smiled as all the marauders and Lily were standing there,"him and Blaise want to borrow your broom cupboard," Lauren told him, smiling. "My broom cupboard?" Sirius asked. "Well, you know, rumours and everything," Lauren said, rolling her eyes. "I think Blaise and Malfoy will make a cute couple," Sirius teased. This was it, Blaise had pulled out from the grasp of the two fourth year boys and advanced on Lauren, she stood her ground though, despite someone trying to pull her back, she assumed it was Sirius as he had been the closest. Staring into the hateful eyes of Blaise Zabini, Lauren refused to move. Suddenly two hands had pushed Blaise back and he stumbled under the power of them, Fred and George had arrived. "Sorry but we can't stand there and let you beat up our little sister," George said, though he didn't sound very sorry. "Even though she'd probably win," Fred added, smirking. "Plus if anyone's gonna tease her about boys, It's gonna be us," "Exactly, you're stealing away our brotherly privalledges," Taking a step towards Malfoy's scowling face, despite Sirius pulling on her arm, it slipped out of his grip, she was staring into his hateful eyes, looking like storm clouds. "So shove off, Malfoy," Lauren spat, a smirk pulling at her lips. All the Slytherin's behind her scowled and glared but she didn't notice, she was too busy feeling triamphant and basking in the look on Malfoy's face. "You'll pay for this, Colt, you, your idiotic brothers, your pathetic friends and your arrogant boyfriend," he spat. "Merlin! Do your ears work? How many times do I have to repeat myself?" Lauren responded, feeling herself going red. "Afraid of the truth?" "Afraid of your only insult against me?" Lauren mimicked, pouting. "Malfoy, let's go," Blaise told him, pulling his arm. "You better do what your boyfriend tells you, I wouldn't want you guys to break up," Then an amazing idea hit her, mimicking him again, she said,"actually I would," "They're even holding hands," Rue teased, her huge chocolate eyes full of fury. Lauren chuckled as Blaise let go of Malfoy's arm and his cheeks went slightly pink. "Run along, Malfoy," Alex added, her curly hair falling out of the loose ponytail it was tied in. "You're gonna-" "Yes, I get it, you're gonna make me pay, blah, blah, blah," Lauren rolled her eyes,"I'll look forward to it," Lauren replied, smirking. "C'mon guys," Pansy said, pulling Blaise, Annabeth and Malfoy out of the hall. "Lauren," Rue whispered, Lauren looked down in Rue's huge eyes,"I just thought of something," "What?" Lauren asked. "We share a room with Pansy and Annabeth," Rue replied, her eyes twinkling. "And you called her a slut," Alex added, laughing. "Crap," Lauren exclaimed, realisng they weren't allowed to change dorms unless it was vital. "well, this is going to be an interesting year,"

CHAPTER 10: AN INTERESTING FIRST WEEK

The rest of that week seemed to fly by, Lauren, Rue and Alex, annoyingly, had to share a room with Pansy and Annabeth, although Pansy was the real problem, she kept making snide remarks about Sirius in front of him and Lauren would blush furiously whenever she did. Throughout the week, Lauren and Malfoy had arguments constantly, although Lauren seemed to win most of them as his only angle was the whole 'you fancy Sirius' and Lauren had much more to attack him with. One lesson, their argument got so bad, they had to be put at seperate sides of the classroom, which Lauren found very funny. At breaks and lunches, Lauren would stay with Rue and Alex but Malfoy always seemed to find her and shoot some insult, that he'd been thinking up all of the pervious day, at her. She'd tried her best to ignore him but she enjoyed their arguments, Fred and George were still being annoying, teasing her every time they saw her, but she just shrugged it off and scowled at them. The best thing was, Sirius hadn't been acting any different towards her, despite Pansy and Malfoys comments, Blaise just took to scowling at her and giving her evils in classes whenever she answered anything but they were easy to ignore. Regulus had been politer to her, much to Lily, Rue's and Alex's annoynace, he'd actually apologised thursday at lunch for what he'd called her and telling Malfoy about it, she excepted but explained they could never be as close as they were again, they would just be pleasent to each other, although everyone else hated this idea, Regulus seemed glad that they were on speaking terms. To Lauren's delight, he wasn't hanging around with Malfoy and his gang anymore, he was friends with people from his own year, who seemed kinder than Mafloy, but that wasn't exactly hard, and Regulus had changed slightly. Thursday night, it had been announced that this weekend was the Hogsmead tip and Lauren, Alex and Rue had planned to go together, Lauren suggested going with the marauders and Lily which made her friends smirk and she didn't speak to them for the last two lessons. On the whole, Lauren's first week back hadn't gone anywhere near as well as she'd expected it to but by friday the week had turned around and became one of her best first weeks back. Sure, Malfoy and Pansy spat insults like they were going out of fashion, she'd been spending more time with the marauders, much to her brothers delight, they now teased her at breakfast and she'd blushed at least twice before half eight, Rue and Alex were sticking up for her everytime Malfoy made a comment and her subjects were getting interesting. They'd finally performed spells in DADA and Lauren had stunned Malfoy at least five times, in Herbology, the plants looked more like gillyweed and less like runny poo, though the greenhouses were really starting to stink, History of magic was still as boring as ever but she shared that lesson with the Gryffidor's which meant that they were suddenly a whole lot more interesting and her, James, Sirius and Alex would earn disapproving looks from Lily, Rue and Remus, Peter didn't really do anything, at least four times in one lesson. A slightly unorthodox week, it had been one of the best ones Lauren had experienced at Hogwarts, amungst all the excitement, Lauren had forgotten to write home to her parents, obviously George and Fred wouldn't, they never did, but she figured this was one week they didn't need to hear about. The only downside to her first week was that Nicks friend, Professor Silas had been watching her and Sirius more closely and with Pansy and Malfoy around, she really didn't want him to get the wrong impression. Fortunetly, the jibes weren't so bad in DADA because the marauders and Lily weren't around to hear them, Malfoy wanted to embarress her more than insult her, and as the end of the week drew closer, Lauren was getting more and more immune to them.

"This first week has gone so fast!" Rue exclaimed, spooning pasta into her mouth. "I know, I wouldn't want to relive it though," Lauren replied, she'd finished her lunch and was talking to Regulus, which earned very rude looks from Rue and Alex. "Me neither, If it wasn't Hodsmead tomorrow, I think I'd go insane," Alex complained, sipping her juice. "I've loved almost every lesson, especially Herbology!" Rue commented, her huge eyes glittering. "Yeah, Herbology was great fun, spooning poo into trays," Alex replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It wasn't poo! We had to use that soil, otherwise the gillyweed wouldn't grow," Rue explained. "It looked like poo," Alex shot back.  
"Anyway, what've we got next?" Lauren asked, changing the subject. "You just assume I know?" Rue replied, finishing her lunch. "Well, yes," "Rue, you always know," Lauren replied, more delicatly than Alex. "We have double charms," Rue answered, looking slightly downhearted. "Urgh, I hate charms," Alex whined, rolling her eyes. "You hate every subject," Rue told her. "No, she loves DADA," Lauren injected,"though, I think that's just because of the teacher," Her teal eyes shining in the dim candle light.  
"Hey! It happens to be a very interesting subject," Alex defended. "And you just happen to fancy professor Silas," Lauren added, smirking as a blush appeared on Alex's cheeks. "I wonder if he and your brother we're the hottest guys in the year," Alex mused. "Ew!"  
"How come everyone thinks my brothers are hot?" "You can't see it because they're your brothers, your mind isn't programmed to think of them like that," Rue told them, smiling. "I doubt she'd be able to notice them anyway, even if they weren't her brothers," Alex chipped in, smirking. Rue giggled. "What's that suppose to mean?" Lauren snapped, knitting together her brows. "Save your fiestyness for Malfoy," Alex said and giggled. "That's so not funny," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes.

CHAPTER 11: ACCIO CHARMS AND VENGEFUL SLYTHERINS

Just then, the bell rang signalling end of lunch. Together, they walked out of the hall, up the spiralling, marble staircase and to their charms classroom. They lined up outside the tall, wooden door and waited until their teacher arrived, they had charms with the Hufflepuffs, so naturally they were already there. Malfoy and his gang were standing at the back of the line, smirks plastered on all of their faces, Lauren scowled at them and then entered the classroom with Alex and Rue. The charms classroom looked like the rest; either rows or tables of wooden desks, a blackboard stretching across the front wall, cupboards containg everything you could need for that class and the teachers desk at the front but there were always objects flying around the room, from charms that had gone wrong. The charms class was the perfect place to talk, because of all the commotion with heavy and potentially dangerous items flying around the room, the teacher was always watching them instead of his students. They walked to a table at the back and were joined by two Hufflepuff girls, one was nearly as tall as Lauren, she had black, silky hair and merky, green-brown eyes, the other was a little shorter, she had aurburn hair that shimmered when it caught the light and apple eyes, that looked throughly dull compared to Lily's. Malfoy, Blaise, Pansy and Annabeth took a table opposite them, glowering at Lauren constantly, Blaise was mouthing insults and cusses at her, making sure she saw. Rilled, she busied herself with taking out her indigo charms textbook, her quill and some parchment, although she probably didn't need it since Charms was always a pratical subject. At that moment, Professor Andar walked in, he was a short, square man, with messy, brown hair that was slowly turning grey, dull, brown eyes that were hidden behind circular, wired glasses and very bushy eyebrows. He was a friendly man, although very scruffy, and he always wore pure black robes, that draped him like a curtain. "Hello, class!" His voice was oddly high and squeaky for a man,"Today we will be praticing the accio charm, can anyone tell me what this charm does?" As ususal, Lauren's hand shot straight in the air along with groans and scoffs from the Slytherin's, "Miss Colt?" "Accio is a summoning charm, you simply say Accio, then follow it with whatever it is you want, and it comes to you. It is not instant though, it comes from wherever you left it last and it could take a long time," Lauren explained. "Very good! As miss Colt rightly said, it is a sommoning charm, you say accio, than whatever it is you want, and it comes to you. For example," He pulled his wand from his robes and pointed it to a brass clock at the back,"Accio clock!" The clock quivered slightly, then shot straight forward to the teachers desk and where professor Andar was standing. "You will all be attempting to master this charm today, we will be trying it with pillows first, to ensure no one is injured, then the more advance students will being trying it with different objects. You may start now," He walked to his desk, placed twenty, fluffy pillows on it and sat down. Rue and Alex has been arguing throughout the explanation, a petty and pointless argument about Herbology, Rue kept insisting that it would be useful to study for OWLS and NEWTS but Alex just kept saying it was fancy gardening and she wouldn't use it. "What do you think, Lauren?" Rue asked, her eyes pleading. Lauren looked up from her textbook, she was trying to burry herself in it and aviod being asked her opinion, and turned to her best friends. "I think you both should except each others opinions and move on," Lauren replied, taking out her wand and placing it on the wooden desk. "Fine," Alex rolled her eyes and pulled her wand from her robes. Rue still wasn't happy though, she wouldn't meet Alex's gaze and was clearly distracted by something but Lauren had a sneeking suspcion it wasn't Herbology. "Accio pillow!" Alex exclaimed, one of the fluffy pillows on the desk quivered, it raised about an inch off the desk and fell back onto the hard, wooden surface again. "Urgh, It's not working," Alex complained. "You have to keep trying," Rue told her, still with a glazed look in her eye. "You do it then," Alex snapped, a bit harsher than she meant to. "I was just saying," Rue replied, her huge, chocolate eyes glinting with hurt. "Accio Pillow!" Lauren exclaimed, trying to break the tention. Much to her surprise, the pillow quivered, and then came shooting straight towards her desk, landing lightly. "Oh, very good, Miss Colt!" Professor Andar squeaked. This seemed to annoy Alex even more, sighing she tried again and again but the pillow kep quivering and then falling back to it's position. To make matters worse, Rue had now mastered the accio charm and was making pillows zoom to their desk. Lauren noticed that Rue kept falling in and out of thought, one minute she'd look at her and her huge eyes would be glazed over, looking like glass and her eyebrows would be knitted together, the next she was shaking her head slightly and trying to concentrate on the charm. Alex tried again, the pillow raised two inches now before falling back down but when Lauren told her this, she just sighed and tried again. "Sir?" Lauren called over the roar of zooming pilows and twenty voices. "Yes, Miss Colt?" "Well, I was wondering, does the accio charm work with people?" Lauren asked. "Why? Wanna accio Sirius into your bed?" Pansy sniped and the Slytherin's roared with laughter. Lauren felt every trickle of blood in her body rise to her cheeks, she look steadying breaths while she tried to ignore the laughter comsuming the room. "Miss Parkinson!" Professor Andar exclaimed. "Yeah, well I was wondering could it be used as another type of transportation?" Lauren asked, her cheeks burning bright red. "It depends, some people can perform the accio charm well enough to transport people, although it would have to be a very powerful witch or wizard, but it is not unheard of," He informed her, nodding she turned back to her friends, still blushing. "Ignore them, they're just being stupid," Rue assured her, glaring at the gang of laughing Slytherin's. Lauren was finding it difficult though, It was easy for Rue to tell her to ignore them but she didn't get it constantly, she wasn't being embarssed in every lesson and none of the teachers had any power to stop it, in lessons maybe but it was constant, the common room, the hall, their dormitory, breaks and lunches. Rue's eyes had glazed over again, she was staring at a random spot on the wooden floor, her wand lay limply in her relaxed hand and and her mouth was slightly parted. "Rue, what's going on?" Lauren hissed in her ear, or where she assumed her ear was because her curly, black hair was covering it. "Huh?" Rue asked, snapping out of her daydream and coming back to reality. Lauren recognised these signs immediatly, Lily had been acting like this weeks before she started dating James, snapping in and out of thought, looking distant, suddenly coming back to reality and looking confused. The question was; Who did Rue fancy? It wouldn't be a fellow Slytherin because they were all jerks, she didn't think it was a Hufflepuff, otherwise she would've been acting strange like Lily did when James was around, so, Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Well, It was either Remus, Peter or Frank, or Sirius a voice in the back of her head added. Something changed, she was suddenly angry with herself for saying that, she imagined them together, she felt sad? Angry? No, after a while she realised what it was. Jealousy. 'No, I'm not jealous, I wouldn't be jealous' she told herself. So, it wouldn't be Peter, she didn't even know Frank, Remus or, or Sirius, she forced her brain to think it, as if it physically hurt. Lauren didn't know the Ravenclaw boys that well, they only had Herbology with the Ravenclaw's, maybe that's where Rue saw whoever it was she fancied. She reminded herself to talk to Rue about it later just as the bell rang. Gathering her textbook, parchment and quill, she shoved them into her green, material bag, slung it over her shoulder, pocketed her wand and left the classroom. Pansy was waiting for her outside, a smirk plastered on her face, that matched with her emerald eyes, she looked evil, her black hair only added to the facade, if it was a facade. Pansy stepped in front of Lauren as she went to walk down the marble corridor, Blaise stopping Rue, which wasn't hard as he was nearly twice her size and Mafloy stopping Alex. Sighing, Lauren looked from Rue and Blaise, to Alex and Malfoy and back to the smirking face of Pansy Parkinson. "What, Pansy?" Lauren spat, pulling the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder. "I was just wondering If you liked my little joke," She replied, her eyes glinting with malice. "It was hilarious, I just forgot to laugh," Lauren answered, rolling her eyes, Alex and Rue sniggered. "Hmph, he's even rubbing off on you," Pansy told her, gliding her eyes up and down Lauren. "I'm sorry, what?" Lauren asked, impatiently. "You're just as arrogant as he is," she replied,"maybe you should watch it, I don't think your parents would be best pleased If you came home talking like that," "Your concern is touching," Lauren told her, rolling her eyes again," but I only talk like that to people I hate," "Hmm, I bet your parents don't know about you crushing on the biggest rebel in school," Pansy said smirking,"I doubt they'd like their golden child dating bad boy Black," Pansy teased, earning laughs from Malfoy and Blaise. "I'm not dating anyone," Lauren snapped,"and you don't know a thing about my family," Lauren could feel the blood rising to her cheeks, she wondered why it didn't just stay there, she was blushing so often, there was no point in it travelling to her body again. "You know, I don't think you'd be any different," Pansy mused. "You know, I don't really care for anything you have to say," Lauren snapped and tried to move past Pansy. She stepped in front of her again and smirked. "I think he'd just play with you, maybe pretend to be in love," She rolled her eyes at those words,"and then dump you like the rest of them," "It's a good thing I don't want to date him then," Lauren shot back. Pansy laughed. "Who are you trying to convince, Lauren? Half the girls in Hogwarts would kill to date him," Lauren's stomach pranged at this,"but yet, his best friend, she doesn't see it? I find that hard to believe, he's a player, he has been since he started, using and abusing girls at his leasiure because of his good looks and cocky attitude, but little miss perfect here, doesn't fancy him. Most girls would throw themselves at him if they spoke to him for one minute, but you guys have been best friends since second year and you haven't thought of him like that once," Her voice was becoming slow and malicious, she was dragging out each word,"No one would blame you Lauren, in fact some girls would get jealous, how does it feel to have a best friend that every girl swoons over?" Lauren didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything, her tongue had frozen. "Mind you, it's not as if a fair share of boys hasn't asked you out, but Sirius, Lily would've noticed it, I reckon if she hadn't been in love with James, she would've gone for him. All the girls in his year in Gryffindor have asked him out once, no one would be surprised if you fell for him, as much as I despise blood traitors like him and you-"  
"How dare you!" Rue shreiked, struggling with Blaise, Pansy and Malfoy merely chuckled, it was useless, Blaise was a lot bigger and a lot stronger. "As I was saying, as much as I despise blood traitors like him and you, I'd probably date him, If he was put in Slytherin," Lauren's stomach gave an uncomfortable churn,"I reckon your friends here would date him, hell, I reckon some of my friends would-"  
"I think Blaise and Sirius would make a cute couple," Lauren sneered. "I meant the girls, they would, I would, Alex would, Lily would, half the girls at Hogwarts would," she look a long pause, Alex looked incredibly guilty, then it was true, she would,"why not you?" Pansy hissed, her eyes alight with malice. "Why not? Hmm? Too perfect? Too much of a golden girl?" Blaise and Malfoy sneered. "Little miss perfect, always getting good grades, always putting her hand up in class, pratically lives in the library, she would never fall for someone like him, always rebelling, too cool to care, mischevious, why would you, huh? Why are you guys even friends?" She sniped. "Lauren, don't listen to her!" Alex shouted, stamping on Malfoy's foot, cussing he held her back. "Hmm? Oh, look at this boys, the golden girl, the braniac, the brightest one of us here," Pansy rolled her eyes,"she doesn't know. One question she can't answer," Blaise and Malfoy chuckled,"one thing she can't understand, why she's best friends with the biggest rebel in school, best friends with the hottest guy in our year, apparently, why her best friends constantly pranking, how many detentions do you reckon he's had?" Pansy mused, glancing at Rue and Alex,"Twenty? Fourty? Fifty? More? Then there's you," she spat the word 'you' out like posion,"No detentions, always follows the rules, liked by all the teachers, can answer any question in any class, how come you guys are friends?" Pansy asked, smirking. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Lauren snapped, glowering at her. "Yes, I would but you don't know. Why does he even like you?" "This will never do, Lauren. You're suppose to be the girl with all the answers, the one that knows everything, but you can't. You can't answer her, because for once in your life, you don't know," Malfoy sneered. "You're not especially pretty," Pansy said while pulling a strand of chestnut hair away from the rest,"You don't dress especially nice, I mean sure, you're smart, but why does he like you? Hmm? He could have any girl of any house of any year, why would he choose you? Mmm? No answer for me, disappointing, I thought you'd live up to your reputation," "Where is he anyway? Bad boy Black? Not here to save you this time, is he?" Malfoy jibed. "You really shouldn't of picked a fight with us," Blaise told her smirking. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I suppose to be scared? Intimidated? Begging you guys to let me go? Promising I'll never say a bad word against you again? Well I'm not. You don't scare me and you make yourselves feel better by putting other people down, it's pathetic," Lauren spat, glowering at the three of them. "Just answer me one question," Pansy asked, trying to keep the anger from her voice,"Why wouldn't you?" "Why wouldn't I what?" Lauren asked, scowling. "Why wouldn't you date him? Most girls would, as I've said, you've got the perfect oppertuinty. But you do, don't you? You do fancy him, you would date him," "No," Lauren snapped. "Awh, you would. I get it now! You do fancy him but you don't want to, you're scared of ending up like the rest of the girls he's dated, you want to say yes but what if he used you? What if he dated you when he felt like it and then chucked you away, another one of his toys?" "You don't know what you're talking about!" Lauren sniped. "Oh but I do," Pansy hissed. "You can let her pathetic friends go," Alex and Rue were released from Malfoy and Blaise's iron grip and walked over to Pansy and Lauren. "They're not pathetic! and I don't fancy Sirius!" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes blazing with fury. "The golden girl and bad boy Black, has a ring, don't you think?" "No, and even if it did, it's never gonna happen because I don't fancy him," "Who are you trying to convince? Me," her smirk grew,"them? Malfoy? Blaise?" she paused, stepping closer to Lauren,"Or you?" she hissed. "I don't!" Lauren stepped back, turned around and sprinted down the corridor to the sound of Pansy, Blaises' and Malfoys' laughter.

Sprinting as fast as she could, she ran down the marble steps, down into the dark, dingy dungeons and shot into the common room. Slumping down on the emerald rug, she turned to the fire and stared into the roaring, orange flames, the creeking embers was the only thing to fill the silence that was pounding at her head. Every second that the silence dragged, Pansy's words rung around her head, taunting, teasing and testing her patients. Messaging her temples with the tips of her fingers, she tried to think about something else but her words kept coming back, like a song on repeat. She kept telling herself that Pansy's words didn't matter, it was just her, if they'd of come from someone she'd actually liked that it would've been different but the words seemed to sting more. Lauren let every single thought she was thinking consume her, everything Pansy had said, everything Malfoy had said, what she'd replied, the fact that Alex looked guilty when she'd said that Alex would date Sirius. When Alex had looked like that, she felt hurt, she felt like someone had just yelled the worst insult they could possibly think of at her but they hadn't, it was only the fact that she would date him, lot's of girls would date him, that's how it'd been since first year, that's how it would always be. That was Sirius. Pellets of golden light were streaming though the stain-glass windows, tinting everything an odd mixture of emerald and gold and glaring on her back, warming it. The fire danced and swirled, her eyes glazing over she went over the arguement one more time, all the cusses, insults, snipes and truths filling her head, she turned away from the fire and face the rest of the room. She was the only one there, which wasn't that surprising considering it was friday afternoon and people were with their friends, basking in the summer weather while it lasted, but she wished it was full, the silence meant that she could think, which she usually wished for, but this was horrible, it was torture. It meant that every one of Pansy's insults could hit a little harder, every one of Malfoy's sneers could hurt more, Alex's guilty face could run around and around in her mind. Burrying her head in her hands, she tried to block out and forget all of their nasty jibes, their hurtful insults, the way they spoke about her, but it was no use. Trying to block them out made it worse, when they hit again it would be harder, they would hurt more. Running her fingers through her silky, chestnut hair, she turned her thoughts to Sirius, could he be with girls as she was sitting here? Lily was always with them, of course, but what about other girls? Why hadn't he gone out with anyone lately? Was he waiting for someone? Waiting for someone to notice him? If so,who? Most girls would do anything to date him, who could he be waiting for? The portarite hole swung open as those questions zoomed around her head, climbing in was a very red-faced Alex and Rue who was clutching a stitch in her side. Looking up, Lauren felt the warmth of the sunlight on her back once more. "Are you alright?" Rue asked, her big, brown eyes brimming with worry. "That seems to be the question of the week," Lauren replied, chuckling. "You just ran off and we didn't know where you'd gone! We cheeked the grounds, figuring you might be with the marauders and Lily but they'd said they hadn't seen you since lunch, we cheeked the library, ran around the whole school and finally we came here," Alex told her best friend. "I didn't mean to make you guys run after me," Lauren's hands were dancing over one another in her lap,"It's just I needed to get away from them, from their insults," Lauren replied, smiling shyly. "We understand, what she said was foul, she's not better than Malfoy," Alex commented, her hands balled into fists. "Now she's gonna tell everyone I fancy Sirius," Lauren groaned, running her hands though the chestnut hair. "You don't?" Rue asked. "No, well, I don't exactly know, I guess, no is the simple answer," Lauren replied, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. "Listen, Lauren, what Pansy said about people wanting to date him-" "Alex, it doesn't bother me," Lauren assured her friend, smiling warmly. "It doesn't?" Alex asked, her sky eyes wide. "No, you fancy most of my brothers, why is this any different?" Lauren answered. The golden light was draping all three of them as they sat on the common room floor. "Well, we thought, we kind of assumed, that, well,-"  
"What Rue is trying to say is that we thought you fancied Sirius," Alex injected, smiling sheepishly. "You did?" Lauren asked, she could feel herself blushing again. "Well, yeah," Rue told her, smiling. "And who do you fancy, Rue?" "Who? Me? I don't fancy anyone," Rue stammered, blushing. "Yes, you do. I know you do, I just don't know who," Lauren replied, smiling sweetly at her. "Well, there's this Ravenclaw boy," Rue started, her blush increasing. "He's in our year, right?" Alex asked, her blue eyes brimming with curiosity. "Yeah, his name is Edward Trayton," Rue admitted, keeping her huge eyes on the floor. "Is he the one with brown hair?" Lauren asked. "Yeah, he has brown hair and hazel eyes," Rue replied, a smile creeping up her full lips. "How come I don't know him?" Alex asked. "Because all you do in Herbology is complain," Lauren answered, her teal eyes glittering in the draping sunlight. "It's boring! You'll have to point him out at dinner," Alex told them, smiling. "You guys are gonna tease me, aren't you?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes dimming slightly. "We have to," Alex replied. "It's our friendship duty!" Lauren added. Rue sighed. "We won't tease you too much, I'll save that for Lauren and Sirius," Alex replied, smirking. "Shut up," Lauren mumbled, blushing again. "Awh, you're blushing," Alex teased.  
"Can we go for dinner? I'm starving," Lauren asked, changing the subject as her blush increased. "Okay," Rue replied, giggling.

CHAPTER 12: LAUREN, MATCH MAKER AND SLYTHERIN?

Scowling, Lauren crossed the common room, walked up the dungeon stairs, leaving the cold, dark corridor far behind as she crossed the gleeming entrance hall and entered the warm, inviting hall. She'd forgotten to be worried about Pansy and as they walked over to the Slytherin table, she realised she didn't care. The hall looked pretty much the same except the ceiling was turning orange and a crimson smudge was slowly decending, giving the whole hall an eerie, red tint. The gold goblets and plates reflected the artifical sunlight, making crimson bounce off the marble walls, the candles lit the room in their iron brackets and the hall was as full as ever with the buzz of at least a hundred conversations but it wasn't overbearing, it was comforting, it was normal. The mouth-watering foods were left untouched as the students were sitting around conversing about the upcoming Hogsmead trip, the third years were excited as this was their first trip, the second and first years looked disappionted as the older students around them were talking about the times they'd been before and the older students weren't as visably exited as the third years but they were, they just acted more subtle about the whole thing, playing it down and trying to act mature about the whole situation. Everyone's inner child came out when they reached Honeydukes; an amazing sweet shop full of chocolate and sweets in flavours you could only imagine, as Lauren went to take her seat at the emerald table, she had an idea, with the scowls of Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini and Lucius Malfoy on her she stood up again and walked over to the table draped in navy blue. Approaching the table, she got many questioning looks as she walked forward to the Ravenclaw, it was widely known that Slytherin's didn't act friendly towards any other house and they certainly didn't sit at other house tables, as she had done once this week already. A smile crept on her lips as she realised she was a rebel but in her own way. "Hey, Cho," She greeted, smiling warmly at her and her friends who returned it. "Hey, Lauren. These are my friends; Skyla," a pale girl with short, black hair and warm, brown eyes,"Viola," a tall girl with inky, long hair and greeny-brown eyes,"Scarlett," A plump girl with strawberry blond hair and friendly blue eyes,"and Tasmine but everyone calls her Tazzy," a tanned girl with tightly curled, mousy hair and liquid, hazel eyes flecked with gold. "Nice to meet you all, may I?" Lauren asked, pointing to a free space next to Cho, the table seats were basically long planks of wood, that could fit as many as needed. "Of course," Cho replied and smiled warmly. Lauren swung her legs under and sat down on the glossy, wooden bench next to her. A couple of Ravenclaw's looked skeptical about her sitting at their table but Lauren simply smiled at them. "Thanks. Well, I wondering, you know Edward," the girls around her noded,"does he fancy Rue?" Lauren asked, smirking at their shocked faces. "Who told you?" the girl called Scarlett hissed. "I sort of worked it out. Now, is he going to Hogsmead tomorrow?" Lauren asked, her idea was forming brillaintly. "Yeah, he always goes with some other boys from his dorm," Cho told her, a questioning look on her face. "Well, do you think he'd ask Rue to go? I know it's all sudden but this is the perfect oppertunity," "He's been crushing on her for ages, so yeah, he probably would," Cho replied, smiling. "Brillaint, do you think you could convince him to ask her?" Lauren asked, eager. "Yeah, he'll be along any minute. You're sure she'll say yes?" Cho commented, her black hair looked like a sheet of silk beneath the candle light. "I'm pretty sure," Lauren told her,"just make it sound like it's your idea, please. As he barely knows me and all, it would be weird if I'm just randomly asking him to ask her," Lauren replied, smiling. "Why are you asking him to?" Lauren simply tapped her nose. Smiling warmly at Cho and her friends, she stood up, iron out her clothes against her body and walked over to the ruby table, earning more glowers and scowls from Malfoy and his gang. Sitting inbetween Sirus and Fred, she smiled at them. "Are you trying to see how many people you can get to hate you?" Fred hissed at his younger sister. "No, why?" Lauren asked, acting innocent. "You know bloody well why," George injected, smirking slightly. "What on earth did you do to them?" Fred asked, looking slightly proud of his younger sister. "Well, I called Pansy a slut, I have indicated Blaise is gay on two occassions and I insulted Malfoy and his family," Lauren replied, smiling at their shocked faces. "I thought you were innocent!" Fred exclaimed. "I am! If you'd of heard half the stuff they've been saying to me, you make me a saint for not killing them," Lauren replied, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. "And now they're killing you with their eyes," Sirius commented. "Yep, pretty much," Lauren replied, smiling. "Sorry to interupt but Pansy's not just killing you with her eyes," Fred said, smirking. "Huh?" Glancing over to the Slytherin table, she saw Pansy stabbing her food with the gold cutlery. "What do you reckon will crack first, her or the plate?" George asked, smirking. Lauren held up her hand to the table hight, made sure she caught Pansy's eye and waved at her. "Oh, definetly her," Lauren replied, laughing. "Why is that boy talking to Rue?" Fred asked, turning his attention to the entrance of the hall. "Ah, another of my talents," Lauren answered, smiling broadly at the seen, then at Cho and then at Alex who was standing near by. "You did that?" George asked, looking impressed. "Indeed, It appears I'm not just talented at annoying people," Lauren replied, smiling. Rue came bounding over, looking happier than she'd been in ages. "Edward just thought he'd ask me to Hogsmead tomorrow, amazing it was completely his idea," Rue told Lauren smirking. "Ah, that's cute, I'm glad you guys are going," Lauren replied. "Lauren, everybody knows you did it," Rue told her, smiling. "I'm afraid I have absoluetly no idea what you're talking about, Rue," "Do you not?" Rue asked, her dark, arched eyebrows raised. "'fraid not," Lauren replied, smiling. "Of course you don't," Alex commented, smirking at her best friends. "Alex, who do you fancy?" Lauren asked, trying to act casual. "Oh, no. If you did that than you'd have to go to Hogsmead alone," "I think Professor Silas will go," Lauren told her and smiled at the blush that appeared on her cheeks. "Shut up, Lauren," Alex snapped, blushing deeper. Lauren and Rue giggled. "Or she could check if Nick is free," Rue suggested, smiling. "Shut up, guys," Alex snapped, folding her arms across her chest and staring at the floor. "N'aww," Lauren teased. "You can shut up Lauren, you've had crushes when you were little," George teased. "Who?" Lauren asked, looking from one smirking brother to the other. "Well, Finnick for starts," "You crushed on Finnick?!" Lily gasped, smiling. "I hate you guys so much," Lauren replied, blushing. "Oh, we forgot Lily knew who that was," Fred teased, smirking. "No, you didn't. You knew full well," Lauren snapped. "She had this massive crush on him," "I didn't! It was a phase," Lauren defended. "A phase where she was totally obsessed with him," George said, smirking. "I wasn't obsessed! Plus, It was like the first time I'd crushed on someone properly and he was the only guy in the house who wasn't related to me!" "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, she was obsessed with him and she use to get super excited when Matt would come home but only because he'd always bring Finnick," Fred continued. "Guys, shut up," Lauren replied, blushing. "You should leave the teasing to us in the future," George added, smiling at his sister. "And then-"  
"And then I never told you guys anything ever again because you can't keep your mouths shut!" Lauren exclaimed, blushing still. "N'aww, you're blushing," Fred teased, everyone laughed. "You can shut up because I know who you're crushing on," Lauren replied, smirking. "Fred isn't crushing on anyone," George said, confused. "On anyone that he's told you about," Lauren replied. It was Fred's turn to blush now, he kept his chocolate eyes fixed on the table and Lauren smirked triamphantly. "Aw, Fred who are you crushing on?" Lily asked. "No one," Fred mumbled. "Now you're both blushing," George commented, beaming. "Shut up, George," Lauren and Fred snapped together. Everyone around the table laughed, Lauren noticed that Rue kept glancing over to the Ravenclaw table and smiling. "Anyway, If you're all done embarassing each other, we haven't eaten yet," Alex prompted. "Merlin, I forgot! I'm starving," Lauren exclaimed, trying to casually take bits of the Gryffindor's food. "Lauren, you can't eat our food," George told her but she'd already started eating. "Woah, she has mum's fiestyness, Nick's brains, Matt's sarcasm, our humour and Charlie's stomach," Fred commented. "I don't have Charlie's stomach! or mum's fiestyness," Lauren replied, scowling. "Of course you don't," George teased, ruffling her hair. Desperatly trying to flattern her hair again, she scowled at her two brothers. "Don't do that," Lauren snapped, brushing her hair with her fingers. "Ah, Georgieeeee, she's growing up," Fred teased. "Indeed, Fredieeeee, but you'll always be our little sis," George added. "Go away," Lauren snapped. "You're at our table," Fred reminded her, smirking. "I'll just go write to mum and tell her who you're crushing on," Lauren teased. "You wouldn't," Fred said, uncertainly. "I would," Lauren replied, smirking. "You do that and I'll tell her all about your fight with miss Parkinson," "Dammit," "Well, I can write and tell mum both things because you guys have nothing on me," George commented. "On the contrary, I know who you're crushing on too," Lauren told him, smiling. "How?" George asked, looking weary. "You both make it so obvious, it's actually quite funny," Lauren replied, smirking at her brothers. "If you tell her, I'll write to Nick," George threatened. "Saying what, exactly?" Lauren asked. "What do you think? About how you have a boyfriend,"  
"How you're very much in love," "That kind of thing," Fred and George said together. "Fine, I won't tell them," Lauren promised. "I'm still tempted to write to Nick, his reaction would be funny," George mused. "It wouldn't be funny! He'd kill me!" Lauren exclaimed. "Nope, he'd kill whoever he thought you were dating," Fred corrected. "I'm waiting for that day to come," "It's gonna be hilarious when you're older and you bring your boyfriend home," "For you guys! Not for me," Lauren replied. "Exactly, plus we'll get to tease you endlessly,"  
"Everybody's a winner," "What about me?" Lauren asked. "You'll already have a boyfriend, don't be greedy," Fred retorted, smirking. "Urgh, I'm going. I've had enough of you two, I'll see you guys tomorrow," Lauren said, getting up. "Bye!" Fred exclaimed. "Dear Nick,"  
"Lauren's in love," Fred and George roared with laughter and Lauren scowled at them.

CHAPTER 13: A SHOCKING SECRET COMES TO LIGHT

Rue, Alex and Lauren walked through the gleeming entrance hall, down into the cold, dark dungeons and into their common room. Passing the roaring fire, they walked up the stairs and into their dormitory. Walking over to her four poster bed, Lauren collapsed on it, rubbing her eyes. Silver mist was pouring through the window, Lauren's eyes kept fluttering shut, she felt exhausted, physically and emotionally. The dorm floor was littered with socks, scarves and other various items, no sighn of the prestine room they'd walked into a week ago, even though the house elves came to clean everyday, they managed to mess the room up again. Alex went mental at them every morning, claiming the dorm was 'a pigsty' and that 'people should learn how to clean', she'd been giving them these lectures since first year, by now everyone had learnt to ignore her. The frostyness in the air was clear from the moment you'd walk in, Pansy would stay away from Lauren and vise versa but Pansy and Annabeth still whispered frantically and made snide comments when Lauren walked in, it was by no means pleasent but Lauren had learnt to tolerate them. The room wasn't exactly massive but it wasn't cramped, everyone just stuck to their side and pretended like the others didn't exisist, it was a plan that worked for both sides and made living with each other a whole lot easier. Lauren grimaced as she realised they would come along any minute, Pansy was the worst, her eyes always had an evil glint, it didn't help that they turned acid green when she was angry, and if looks could kill, Lauren would've been dead and burried days ago. Annabeth hung around Pansy but she wasn't as callous and she just tagged along, not really belonging with them but not belonging anywhere else, Pansy was the type of girl you'd want as a friend rather than an enemy, which Lauren had quickly discovered this week. She didn't know how was worse, Pansy or Malfoy, Malfoy was crule, cold-hearted and constantly insulting her but Pansy was all those things, especially crule, and more, she would play on peoples insecurities, know how to get to them, know where their soft spots were, she'd make anyone feel nervous. Silver moonlight draping her, Lauren slipped out of her school uniform and pulled on her pajamas, Rue and Alex were pulling theirs on too when the dormitory door burst open and a very malicious looking Pansy walked in with Annabeth hot on her heels. The two Slytherin girls walked over to their side of the room and erupted in hisses and whispers, Pansy's eyes glinting acidic green and Annabeth's sky eyes narrowed and glaring, they were clearly furious over something, Lauren let her mind wonder to what. All sorts of crazy situations whirled around Lauren's head, from Malfoy and Pansy dating to Malfoy calling her a blood traitor; which he would never do but she wasn't thinking logically. Watching the sceene unfold before her eyes, Lauren beckoned Rue and Alex over to her bed, they pulled the emerald drapes around them and Lauren cast a silencing charm. "What's wrong with Pansy and Annabeth?" Lauren hissed, her teal eyes wide. "No idea, they seem very aggitated about something," Alex replied, narrowing her eyes at the whispering girls. "I wonder what happened?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes glinted with curiousity. The two girls were still whispering very fast, their heads tilted together and their eyes flecked with hatred. "Somethings obviously wrong," Alex mused, her mouth twitching at the sight of them. "Maybe Pansy got rejected by someone?" Lauren said thoughtfully, her fair eyebrows dipping slightly. "Lauren, that never happens," Alex replied, both the girls erupted in giggles, meanwhile Rue was frowning at them disapprovingly. "Maybe they had an argument with Malfoy?" Rue asked, twirling a tight curl around her tanned finger. "Hmm, I doubt it, they seem more annoyed than gloomy," Lauren replied, her teal eyes twinkling in the silver mist. "Maybe we should try and listen in? We could lie, say we're going to sleep and then evesdrop," Alex suggested, a smirk pulling at the right side of her mouth. "We can't do that!" Rue hissed, her brown eyes wide,"It's none of our business," "Have you heard what she's been saying to Lauren this past week? Were you there earlier when she called her a blood tratior?" "Also, you must want to know?" Lauren added, smirking. Rue opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again and close it, a despearing look sweeping over her, she sighed and nodded. "Good, now we're all pretend to be asleep, when they've gone, we'll get up and compare what we've heard, got it?" Alex asked, a mischevious glint in her sea eyes. "Got it," Lauren replied, smiling slyfully at her friends. Rue sighed, realising she could win, she looked guilty. "Yes, let's just get this over with," Lauren countered the silencing charm, slid into her warm, cosy bed and laid back, a few seconds later, she heard Rue and Alex climb into their beds, the plan had begun. Desperatly trying to hear what they were whispering, Lauren moved as close as she could to the left side of her bed, straining her ear in their general direction. Moving the emerald drape slightly, she held her breath and listened. "I can't believe he fancies that blood tratior," Pansy hissed, Lauren assumed her eyes had turned acidic green again but she couldn't see in the vast darkness. "I know, I don't know what he see's in her. She's not exactly pretty or anything, I mean, sure she's smart but nobody likes a golden girl," Annabeth replied, a malice edge to her voice. 'Golden girl,' Lauren thought over this, that's what Pansy had called her, somebody fancied her? It was impossible but it only made her eager to 'overhear' more. "Exactly, plus she hates his guts, he's going to be severly disappionted when he realises," Pansy whispered back, this was the softest Lauren had heard her voice. "She should just date that other blood tratior and leave other boys alone," Annabeth sniped, okay, maybe Annabeth wasn't as innocent as Lauren had thought. "I'm starting to think she gets a kick out of toying with boys, I feel sorry for him, being pulled into her trap, just like Regulus was," Lauren had to use all her self control not to march over to them and hit Pansy, but it was definite, they were talking about her. "What I don't get is he's always horrible to her, I would've never thought he'd be crushing on her," Annabeth hissed. "I guess he was in denial, falling for a filthy little blood traitor like her is nothing to be proud of," Pansy retorted, it was the way she spit out 'her', it was like the word left a bad taste in her mouth, like she'd just cussed, like it was a dirty word. "You don't think he's fallen for her?" There was a definite coldness to her voice, as icy as winter wind. "I don't know, I don't like to think he has as I hate her with a passion but It's a possibility," Pansy replied, a sadness to her otherwise cruel voice. "Urgh, don't worry Pans, as soon as she's with her pathetic boyfriend he'll have no choice to get over her," Annabeth reassured her friend. "What do all these boys see in her?" Pansy snapped, an edge to her voice that indicated pure hatred. "I don't know, but I can't believe bad boy Black has fallen for someone like her! He could have any girl, in any house, in any year but instead her chooses her, I think she slips love potions into their goblets," Annabeth sniped, Pansy gave a cruel laugh and Lauren was trying to calm herself down, pinching her skin to stop herself from exploading. "I know! Most girls around here would do anything to date him but I guess the golden girl," Pansy's voice was dripping with viciousness at those words, the name they had given Lauren,"doesn't see it or pretends not to anyway," Annabeth gave a short, sharp laugh, the cruelness in her words had wormed into her laugh too. "Too perfect to fall for someone like him, miss goody two shoes," she spat the words,"and the biggest reble in school. Urgh," Lauren assumed she'd rolled her eyes because Pansy chuckled,"give me a break," Annabeth said in an exasperated voice. "Okay, say she's a good friend or whatever, or maybe bad boy Black likes goody goodies, for whatever reason, it's not important but why would he have fallen for her? She's been nothing but rude to him, never showed an interest in him once," Pansy phrased it like a question but it didn't seem like she wanted an answer. "Pans, seriously, don't worry yourself over it," Lauren made a gaging face, Annabeth was using a sickly sweet voice,"he'll realise what she's like, the golden girl can run off into the sunset with Black and he'll come back to you," "You really think so?" Pansy asked, her voice alight with hope. Lauren made another gaging face, Rue saw her and giggled into her pillow, luckily it was silenced and the girls didn't hear. "Yeah, Pans. He'd be an idiot not to," Annabeth replied, her voice as sweet as candy. "Thanks, Anna," Pansy said, mimicking her sickly sweet voice. "We bettter get to sleep, now. It's Hogsmead tomorrow, maybe we can talk to one of his friends? Convince them to ask him and see if our theories are true," Annabeth suggested, pulling on her pajamas. "Okay, look's like golden girl and her friends are asleep," Pansy snipped, glaring at the opposite side of the room. "She's probably dreaming about bad boy Black," Annabeth said, putting on a girly voice and swooning, her bed creaked as she fell. Pansy laughed, trying to stiffle it with her hand, Annabeth joined in and soon they were both giggling silently. Lauren felt heat rising up from her stomach, trying to ignore them she squeazed her eyes shut and thought about tomorrow. Before long she had fallen into the word of dreams, completely forgetting about their plan.

Lauren woke up to find the familiar crimson light pouring though the window and draping her face in warmth, fluttering her eyes a few times, she cast them around the room, Pansy and Annabeth were still sleeping, Alex was laying in bed and Rue was reading a Herbology book bound in indigo, rich velvet. Grudingly slipping out from underneath her warm, comforting covers, she sat up and slumped against the hard, wooden headboard. Remembering the coversation from last night, she caught Rue's huge,chocolate eyes that were swimming with warmth, as always, and gestured that she was coming over. Silently climbing out of her bed, she pulled aside the emerald drapes that were tinted with crimson and tip-toed across the room to where Rue and Alex were. Alex's blue eyes were misted with tiredness and Rue's hair was tangled and sticking out like a lions mane, checking her own reflection out of the corner of her eye, Lauren saw her chestnut hair was as flicky as always and her skin was as pale as snow, ignoring this, she climbed onto Rue's bed and smiled at her two friends. Her back was being warmed by the rising sun and her face had a strange, red tint that looked like she was glowing. "Lauren, I can't believe you went to sleep!" Alex accused, her face flooded with warmth. "Sorry," Lauren apolgised,"hold on," whipping out her wand from her sock, she cast the same silencing charm around Rue's bed, which they were all sitting crossed-legged on, and drew the green drapes shut. "Did you heard their conversation! Lauren, someone fancies you and Pansy is not please!" Rue gushed as soon as they were sure they couldn't be overheard. "I thought you were against the idea or evesdropping?" Alex teased, smirking. "Well, I was at first," Rue replied, blushing slightly. "Anyway, we don't know they were talking about me," Lauren told them, although she was certain they were she didn't want to appear arrogant about the whole situation. "Who else have they dobbed 'golden girl' and whose 'bad boy Black'?" Alex replied, smirking at the blush that was appearing on Lauren's cheeks. "Someone fancies you!" Rue hissed, her huge eyes flecked with interest. "I got that bit for myself," Lauren replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anyway, do you guys have any idea who it could be?" Alex asked, serveying them both with her sky eyes. "Well, it's definetly a pure blood," Rue remarked. "How'd you work that out?" Alex asked.  
"Because," Rue started, rolling her eyes,"one, they said falling for a blood you-know-what was nothing to be proud of and he'd be in denial and second, it was obvious Pansy fancies whoever this guy is," "Ooh, Lauren's in competition with Parkinson," "We are not in competition," Lauren snapped, her eyebrows dipping,"I don't wanna date whoever he is," Lauren finished, smoothing out her brow. "You don't know, he could be really hot," Alex replied, clearly not phaised by Lauren snapping at her.  
"Yeah, but the chances are if he's a pure blood, he'll think Lauren's a blood you-know-what," Rue injected. "Rue you can say blood tratior, I don't mind and Alex, even if he is, I don't want to give Pansy another reason to hate me," "Good point, but aren't you guys really curious?" Alex asked, her eyes alight. "Hmm, I'm not that bothered," Lauren replied, in a bored voice. "How can you not be?" Rue exclaimed, her eyes swimming in thought. "Whoever it is, like I said, I don't wanna date them. It'll just be more awkward if they tell me or I find out," Lauren explained, rolling her eyes. "I guess but I still wanna know," Alex mused. "You guys don't think It's Regulus?" Rue asked, worry washing over her features. "No, we barely even talk anymore," Lauren replied, sounding firm. "We don't even know what year or house he's in!" Alex exclaimed, throwing up her arms in despair. "We'll for now we'll assume he's in Slytherin, since it has the most pure bloods, and our year," Rue told them thoughtfully. "That's a lot of assuming," Alex said in an uncertain voice. "Well, It's the best we have to go on," Lauren considered. "Okay, assume he is, that leaves us with Malfoy, Black, Grabbe, Gole and Zabini," Rue told them, her eyes glazing over. "Well, we can rule Black out," Alex commented,"well, one at least," "Anyway," Lauren said, blushing,"that leaves Malfoy, Blaise, Grabbe and Gole," "We can also eliminate Grabbe and Gole," Rue added. "Why?" "Because Pansy's obviously not going to fancy them," Rue replied, her brow furrowed in thought. "So Malfoy or Blaise," Alex stated, spiting the names out. "Neither, both of them hate me," Lauren replied, thinking. "But remember what they said,'he's always horrible to her,' " Rue countered. "Okay, how are you remembering all this?" Alex asked, slightly jealous Rue could recite the conversation word for word. "I don't know but that's what they said," Rue replied shrugging. "Guys, we should get dressed, we've got Hogsmead today," Lauren suggested, countering the silencing charm and getting up. The sun outside was still a deep crimson, streaming through the emerald windows, bouncing off the walls. "Okay," Alex replied, standing up and walking over to her wooden chest of draws containing her expensive clothes. Alex was the daughter he mother longed to have; she always wore designer clothes, they were extravagant and the kind of clothes that would be Lauren's nightmare, she was the most consious of the three girls, wearing make-up, styling her hair and dressing like she was about to model for a fancy magazine. Rue was in the middle; she could apply make-up perfectly, she had girly clothes that swished whenever she moved, her hair didn't need styling, she only had to brush it but she had some casual clothes as well. Lauren was the complete opposite, she never bothered to do anything but brush her hair, even though it flicked eveywhere, she wore casual clothes all of the time, she pratically lived in her hoodies, she couldn't apply make-up to save her life and her own mother had said she looked like a boy. Yanking open her draws, Lauren pulled out a pair of navy jeans, she pulled out a yellow top that had the Qudditch balls on and what the positions were, she treasured this as she'd brought it when she'd been selected for the TT, her navy hoodie and her converses. Pulling her clothes on, she admired her top in the mirror and turned around to see the others, he jaw nearly fell open. Rue was wearing a cream, flowy blouse, that made her look like a ballerina whenever she walked, black jeans and cream pumps, Alex was wearing an emerald, shiffon top, white jeans that clung to her curves and emerald pumps. Rue's hair was perfectly curled, as always, Alex's ringletted hair was tied in a loose pony tail, with blond strands framing her jaw, and all Lauren could do was stare at her friends. Her clothes looked basic and unimpressive compared to theirs, her flicky hair looked wild, as it couldn't decided whether it was straight or wavy, and Alex's make-up made her face look flawless, the black eyeliner framed her lids perfectly, the blusher gave her cheeks a natural, pink glow and the foundation made her skin look smooth and spot-free. "Lauren, is that another Quidditch top?" Alex asked, rolling her eyes. "Maybe," Lauren replied, pulling her navy hoodie around her stomach. "We really need to style you," Rue joked, nudging her friend in the ribs, her huge eyes glittering. "Okay, one, it's only Hogsmead and two, I haven't got anyone to impress," she replied, winking at Rue. "Riiight, no one to impress," Alex said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, shut up," Lauren snapped, feeling her cheeks going crimson like the sun outside. "Well, me and Rue actually look like girls," Alex shot back, smirking. "Oh, do be quiet, Alex. You're giving me a headache with your nagging," Lauren replied and poked her tongue out, she recieved a fluffy pillow to the face. Laughing, she grabbed her wand, stuffed it into her sock, pulled on her shoes and stood up. "Is everyone ready? Everyone's got their money and wands?" Alex asked, bossing everybody around as usual. "Y'know Alex, you always complain that I won't get a boyfriend because of my fiestyness and my clothes but you're going to have to find someone to put up with your nagging," Lauren told her, smirking. "I was just checking," Alex answered, scowling. "The mean girls are awake," Rue whispered, pointing with her huge eyes. Pansy and Annabeth were stiring in their beds, Pansy's emerald eyes had fluttered open and scowled at Lauren. "Let's go guys, I don't wanna be here when her brain kickes in and she starts yelling insults at us," Alex hissed, heading for the wooden door. "You mean if her brain kicks in," Lauren whispered, following Alex out into the marble corridor.

CHAPTER 14: THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER

Sniggering with laughter, the three girls headed down into the common room, which was deserted and unwelcoming as usual, climbed out of the hole, walked through the eerie, dingy dungeons and up into the gleeming entrance hall. A lot more students were up than usual, because of the Hogsmead trip, the hall had at least twenty more students that it normally did at this time, Rue, Alex and Lauren took their seats at the Slytherin table, Rue looking around for Edward, who hadn't arrived yet. The crimson light had only just started to lift, there were still streaks of red in the golden light and the horizon was underlined in blood-red, a few fluffy clouds were floating around in the blue sky and the sky was almost the colour of Alex's eyes. Lauren waved at Cho as she started filling her plate with piping hot eggs, beans and hashbrowns, all giving off a warm scent that filled her nose. Picking up her gleeming, gold fork and knife, she was just about to jab a piece of fluffy, yellow egg when she notcied Alex was looking at her. "What?" Lauren asked, hovering her fork just above the food. "I'm wearing white jeans!" Alex hissed to Lauren and Rue, worry in her eyes. "Are you? I didn't notice," Lauren commented sarcastically. Rolling her eyes, Alex snapped,"I can't eat!" "Why not?" Lauren asked as her and Rue gave her disbelieving looks. "I might get food down them!" "Alex, you're a big girl now, I'm sure you can aim food into your mouth," Lauren replied, in a voice that you'd talk to a todler in. "I can't eat! I don't wanna get stains down my trousers," She complained, looking longingly at the delicious foods. Lauren shrugged, picking up her gold fork, the egg was just about it touch her lips when Alex hissed at her. "You're just gonna eat without me?" her arms were folded across her chest. "It's your fault for being so fashion consious," Lauren replied,"just sit on the edge of the bench, your legs will be covered by the table," Picking up her fork for a third time, Lauren stuffed the egg into her mouth before she could have any more interuptions, the scrambled egg felt light and fluffy on her tongue and felt warm as it slid down her throat. Gingerly, Alex spooned food onto her golden plate, picked up her matching cutlery and began to eat, watching her was agony, so Lauren wolfed down her own food, feeling the different textures and flavours dancing on her tongue. As the last piece of fluffy, moist hashbrown slipped down her throat, burning slightly but tasting tantilisingly good all the same, Rue's face lit up in a massive smile, exposing her pure white teeth, making her eyes swim with happiness and making lines appear around her eyes and mouth. Turning her teal eyes to the entrance, they glittered when they caught the candle light, she saw the source of Rue's sudden smile, Edward had arrived through the tall, wooden doors and when he's caramel eyes had fallen on Rue, he'd beamed, if possible, more than her. He was with two boys, one of them was a little taller, with cropped, curly flaxen hair and bright blue, sparkly eyes, the other was shorter, just above Lauren's height, he had inky, curly hair that hung a bit longer than the other boys with warm, friendly brown eyes, Edward himself had melting, caramel eyes, floppy, tawny hair that swept into a side fringe and he was taller than the other two boys. Rue just sat there smiling, so Lauren took matters into her own hands, she beamed at him, waved and beckoned for him to walk over to them, he looked unsure at first but eventually started making his way over to them. Rue was yanking on Lauren's slieve, hissing in her ear but this just made her smile broader and reassure Edward more, the two boys were following him. "Hey," Rue smiled as he approached, making Lauren snigger into her gold goblet encrusted with the Hogwarts emblem. "Er, hey," He replied, smiling sheepishly, Lauren giggled. Alex hit her on the arm very hard, making it sting, rubbing it, Lauren scowled at her and turned back to the three boys. "This is Lauren and that's Alex," Rue introduced, pointing to her friends as she said their names. Lauren couldn't help but notice that the boy with blond curly hair was staring at Alex, Lauren giggled earning another hit from Alex. "This is Dean," he told them, pointing to the boy with the blond hair,"and that's Alex," he continued, pointing to the one with black hair.  
"Nice to meet you," Lauren said and smiled, fighting another fit of giggles. "Same," "We're just gonna have some breakfast and then we'll all go," Edward told them, smiling. "All?" Lauren asked, a confused look on her face. "Yeah, we're all going, aren't we?" He asked, smiling. Lauren turned to Rue forcing a smile. "I'm not too sure, are we Rue?" Lauren asked a strain on her voice. "Er, yeah. We'll let you guys eat now, see you in a minute," Rue told them and smiled. They smiled back and walked over to the table covered in blue with an eagle as their emblem. As soon as they were gone, Lauren turned to Rue, a fierce frown planted firmly on her face. "I think you neglected to mention the part where we were all going together!" Lauren snapped at her. "Lauren, we didn't tell you because we knew you'd never agree," Alex replied, trying to calm her. "Great! I'm the only one that didn't know!" she exclaimed, glowering at her best friends. "Lauren, please don't be angry with us," Rue begged, sadness swelling in her huge, brown eyes. "Fine, I won't be angry but you know what else I won't be doing?" Lauren asked, trying to calm herself. "What?" "Going to Hogsmead," she snapped. Standing up, she glowered at her friends once more and strode over to the Gryffindor table that was draped in ruby with a lion as their emblem. Slotting in between Sirius and Fred, that seemed to be a habit, she sighed and began massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers. "What's wrong with you?" Fred asked, watching his sister. "Well, you know that boy that was talking to Rue?" "Yeah, the one that asked her to Hogsmead," Fred replied. "Exactly, well she neglected to tell me that we're going as a group," Lauren sighed. "What you three and him?" George injected, turning away from a pretty black-haired girl he was talking to. "No, us three, him and two of his friends," Lauren groaned, resting her head on her arms on the wooden table.  
"What's so terrible about that?" Fred asked, looking confused at his younger sister. Her head snapped up from the table as soon as the words had left his mouth. "Because I'll have to talk to them!" Lauren exclaimed, groaning again. "I'm still not following," George commented. "I'll have to talk to them and find stuff that we have in common," Lauren shuddered and sighed. "Sorry but what's bad about that?" "Everything!" Lauren exploded, frowning. "You can make friends," Fred teased. "I don't want friends! It'll be all awkward because Edward likes Rue and The blond haired one, what's his name? Dean! He likes Alex, what do I do?" Lauren asked exasperated. "Flirt with the one that's left?" Fred joked, smirking. "It isn't funny!" Lauren snapped, scowling. "Okay, okay, sorry," "Lauren, he's not that bad looking," Lily suggested sweetly, Lauren sent her a death glare and Lily closed her mouth immediatly. "He's not," George smirked. "I swear to merlin, if you lot don't shut up, I'm going to stab you to death with the forks, cut your bodys into tiny pieces and feed you to the house elves," Lauren snapped, glaring. "Okay," George said holding up his hands,"that's a no go with the flirting," "What about just being polite?" Fred asked, smiling. "Do I look like I'm in a polite mood?" Lauren snapped. "Well, no" "Well, Lauren, he's a Ravenclaw, he'll like books and studying, what about that?" Remus suggested, smiling sweetly. "Hmm, maybe," Lauren mused. "Oh, you don't bite his head off!" Fred accused, pouting. "Don't pout, it makes you look like a girl," Lauren replied, poking his pertruding lower lip. Just then, about a hundred owls flew though the great hall, dropping letters down, pumpkin juice, sugar pots and cutlery went everywhere, three letters were dropped in front of George, Fred and Lauren. They all glanced at each other, fingering the cream parchment in their hands, turning it over and over. "We never get letters," Fred told his sister. "Oh," "What?" George asked. "I was hoping you guys did because I don't," Lauren replied, looking at the brown envelope like it was a bomb. "You first," Fred commented. "Why me?" Lauren asked, her eyes full of horror. "You're the youngest," George said. "What's so bad about letters?" Sirius asked, eyeing them. "We only get letters when somethings wrong," Lauren explained, feeling the rough paper in her hands. "or we're in trouble," George added, staring at his own envelope. "Hey! My writings different!" Lauren told them, comparing the scrawl on their brown envelopes to the neat, coligraphy om hers. "You know whose writing that is?" "Uh-huh," Lauren gulped,"Nicks," "After you," Lauren slid her index finger underneath the seal of the envelope, it pulled away easily, much to her despair, tentively, she pulled out the creamy-brown parchment and unfolded it, it looked a tea-stained colour and Lauren could tell by the contrast of how it felt, the envelope felt rough and patchy, this felt smooth and thick, that it was expensive. Unfolding it, her teal eyes glazed the page and she began to read.

Dear Lauren, I am sure by now that you have met professor Silas, you're new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, he may or may not have told you that we went to school together and we were good friends. He informed me around the middle of the summer holidays that he would be taking a post at Hogwarts, and I neglected to tell you because I asked him to keep an eye on you as I'm sure you already know. He never was very good with secrets, he's probably told you what I'd asked him to do and I don't blame him. I know you are most definetly angry with me for what I've done but please try to remember I only want to protect you and look after you and I feel like you're vulnerable at Hogwarts. I would've asked Fred and George to look after you but I had no doubts they would've got distracted and failed to do so after the first week. For what I am about to tell you remember that, and please don't be angry with Professor Silas, as an old friend of mine he was only doing what I asked him. I have been told by him that you and Mr Black are closer than you let on to the family, it appears George, Fred, Matt, Charlie and Finnick aren't the only ones who think he has a bit more than friendly feelings towards you and wishes that you were more than that. As you well know, his family would frown upon any relationship you have together, let alone bringing romance into it, she would find a way to reverse it and make it all mum's fault. I am sure you want that no more than I do, I understand that mum has talked to you about this issue and she has said that she wouldn't disapprove. I wish to know whether you have more than friendly feelings towards him, you don't have to write back now, you can tell me when you come and visit for christmas, I know that seems like ages away, but trust me, It will come fast. Also, I wish to know how your first week at Hogwarts has been and what Fred and George are doing, if it's too bad, don't tell me. Like I said before, even though mum has expressed no dislike towards the idea of a relationship between you and Mr Black, and dad clearly has no problem with it, I do. I don't want you to date him and I don't feel the same way as mum. Now, If there is already something going on, I would wish for it to end, I know you probably think I'm being unreasonable and that you are free to date who you choose but I don't wish for you to be with anyone in that way and he would probably be the least of my choices, after all our families gone through for the Black family, I understand that you said he's not like his family, that he's rebelling and was sorted into Gryffindor but I would have to see it to believe it. I cannot take your word that one of the members of the family that threatened mum and I feel strongly opposed that you have any contact with him at all, but that cannot be helped with friendship circles and what not, and I am completely against the idea of you and him together. Please remember I'm doing this because I love you and that all I'm trying to do is protect you, I know that you won't appreciate me prying into your private life and you'll probably resent me for this but I care about you and I hate the idea of him hurting you in that way. He may be different but I don't want you two together, no matter what, this will be my final word on the subject. Mum and dad might be okay with it but I'm not. I don't want you getting hurt by him or anyone else, hopefully see you at Christmas. Love Nick

All Lauren could do was stare at the letter, her mouth slightly parted in shock and her teal eyes gliding over every word, craving it into her brain, making sure she'd read it properly. The world around her seemed to fade away, all the noises and conversations of the great hall numbed, they faded like someone slowly turning the volume down on the tv, they all became a background noise as her head spun around, the words spinning faster than anything, spinning and spinning, around and around, etching themselves in, making themselves heard over the roar of her thoughts. She wasn't feeling anything except shock, no resentment, no hatred, not even sadness, just nothingness. Nothing except those words running around her head like a circuit, like a song on repeat, never stopping, not even pausing just the same words again and again, breaking the silence, the eerie silence as the great hall had faded out, faded out of reality and into some dream state. She wished that were true, she wished this was a dream, If it was then she'd wake up, go to Hogsmead with Alex and be able to date who ever she wanted, it would be the perfect day, Rue would be happy with Edward, Lauren would be happy, and Alex might even get to know Dean better, but deep down, some niggly little voice in her head was telling her; this is it, this is your reality and this is happening right now. Slowly, her senses came back, smell first, she could smell fluffy eggs and cooked bacon and hot beans, then she was aware of a soft, thick paper in her hands, that felt like a mixture of silk and cotton, then every breath she took felt sharp and painful and she could taste tiny pieces of the fluffy eggs she'd eaten minutes ago, she could hear the roar of the great hall again, the buzzing of conversations, the excited squeels of the third years for their first trip to Hogsmead, the whsipering and giggling of girls huddling around in circles talking about boys and god know what else and finally, her vision came back, she could see the four tables draped in emerald, yellow, blue and ruby, she could see the enchanted candles floating along, giving off their eerie, yellow glow, she could see the golden sunlight draping down on her flecked with crimson streaks that were all that was left of the rising sun, she could see seven pairs of eyes on her, stormy grey, startling emerald, warm hazel, liquid honey, dull brown and two sets of chocolate eyes, watching her every move. Reality dawned on her and she suddenly felt alive again, all her senses were working, she could taste the eggs, see the eyes, feel the soft parchment, hear the roar and smell the foods. Wordless, she thrust the parchment into George's chest, Fred was reading over his shoulder, their chocolate eyes growing wider with every word they absorbed, Lauren was looking at them hopelessly, her teal eyes swimming with sadness. She didn't know why but this letter, this piece of thick parchment effected her, more than it should, more than any insult Pansy could ever throw at her could, more than any embrassing comment could make her blush, she'd rather hear a thousand comments like that than have recieved this letter, rather blushed a million times than have read those words. When her brothers had finished reading they passed it back, their eyes full of sorrow for what it contained, they were speachless as well, George tried to say something but he opened his mouth and all that came out was breath, warm, tickly breath that was no use, no condolence, no help right now. This seemed pathetic to others, of course it would, she was getting all emotional over a letter but Fred and George knew, they understood, Nick had forbid Lauren from dating Sirius and she couldn't. Normal people would shrug it off, ask what all the fuss was about, ask why Lauren didn't just crumple up the letter, throw it away and ignore it but her brothers knew, knew why she couldn't do that. It would be exactly the same as throwing away her relationship with her brother, it seemed stupid, it seemed laughable that she was getting this upset over it but she knew what it meant, there wasn't a choice, her brothers word meant more to her than anything, he had told her she couldn't date him and she knew she had to obey. "Lauren...I'm..." Fred started but he couldn't finish, couldn't bring himself to say the words, the words that would make it definite, confirm that she wasn't having some delusion, that this wasn't all fabricated from some figment of her imagination. "What's wrong? What does it say?" Sirius asked, worry in his stormy eyes but Lauren couldn't answer, she just looked at him, looked at the guy she was forbidden to date and it dawned on her, it had taken her being told that Nick doesn't want her to see him, for one stupid letter on posh paper with neat, coligraphy writing for her to realise, for her to see; she loved Sirius Black. "I'll tell your friends you're not going to Hogsmead," George said, standing up slowly. Lauren simply nodded, she wasn't sure exactly what she was answering too but she couldn't go with them, pretend, fake smile, laugh at jokes and agree with them. George had recovered first, but Fred was still sitting, frozen in place, looking exactly how she felt. "Lauren, why aren't you going? What does it say?" Lily asked, just as concerned as Sirius but again she didn't answer, she just sat frozen in place, everything frozen, everything except her mind that was working at a million miles per hour, thoughts and words zooming around, jumbling together, seperating apart, nothing made sense. "Lauren, I'll take you back to your common room," Fred offered, nodding she stood up.

Leading her by the hand, he led her out the hall, through the marble entrance hall, down into the dungeons which had no effect on her, as they usually did, Lauren whispered to the portraite and collapsed on an emerald green sofa, the soft velvet tickling her cheeks. "Fred..." Lauren started but trailed off, how could she even begin to tell him what she was feeling? How could she even describe to him what was going on in her mind? How could she tell her brother that she'd just realised she'd been in love without even knowing it? She'd missed the signs, the obvious signs, the way his smirk made her stomach flutter, how she would blush whenever he was mentioned, how she had denied it so often, denied she'd liked him in that way, denied she'd had a crush on him for so long, to so many people, she'd never bothered to find out the truth, the truth that was staring her in the face, that had been there since last year, burried away, deep inside. But without any explination, without any words or sentences or syllables, Fred seemed to know, he'd always known. He pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her from the words, protecting her from everything that threatened her, maybe Nick wasn't the most protective after all, maybe it was Fred. Had it always been Fred? Sure, Nick protected her from everything and everyone but it took true love to know what to protect and what to let pass, that's why Fred had teased her about Sirius, he'd known how she felt, known before even herself, spotted the signs and pieced the puzzle together. "Fred," she choked, pulling back slightly,"how long have you known?" It came out as a hoarse whisper but he'd understood perfectly. "Since the end of last year, you came home and told us all about your year and his name crept up a lot, you didn't notice it but me and George did, we worked it out and then we waited. It took you long enough," Fred teased, looking his sister straight in the eyes, warm, brown into sparkly blue. Lauren let out a small choke of laughter and smiled, it was a ghost of a smile, a flicker of one, but it was a smile. "I left it too late, I should've figured it out before, It's too late," Lauren mumbled over and over again, shaking her head. "Hey, It's never too late," Fred replied, in the kindest voice he'd ever used for her. "But Nick-"  
"Nick can't control you," Fred soothed.  
"You know that can never happen, don't you? If I'd of just realised before," Lauren murmered, kicking herself internally. "Give him some time, you never know, he might change his mind," but Fred's eyes said it all, they were flecked with pitty and sorrow for his younger sister. "No, It's no use, it's no use," Lauren told him, her teal eyes sparklier than ususal. "Lauren, you can date him, it's not Nick's life, it's yours," Fred reassured her, hatred blazing in his eyes for what Nick had done. Fred had always been the one, the most protective, the kindest, it just took a situation where she was in desperate need, need for protection, need for comforting words and soft voices that his true nature had revealed itself. "It doesn't matter, the feelings not mutual," Lauren whispered, her eyes flecked with water. Fred stared at her in disbelief, his chocolate eyes wide. "You think Sirius doesn't care about you?"  
"Not in that way," Lauren breathed, her cheeks feeling moist. "Blimey Lauren, I knew you were oblivious but not like this," Fred commented, his floppy fair falling into his warm eyes. "Sirius could have anyone, any girl, any house, any year, why would he choose me?" Lauren asked, she felt something warm and salty trickle down her blotchy cheeks and slide into her mouth. It pained Fred to see his sister like this, he couldn't protect her from her own thoughts, he couldn't scared them off as he had done with Malfoy, he couldn't snap at them back, or insult them, he was forced to watch his sister in pain and, for once, there was nothing he could do. "Lauren," Fred started but Lauren was staring into the blazing fire, trying to hide the tears from him, hastily brushing them away with the slieve of her blue hoodie,"Ebony," This caught her attention straight away, no one ever called her by her given name, as soon as she could talk she'd changed it to Lauren, her middle name, snapping her head in Fred's direction, she saw his friendly, brown eyes boring into her own,"he loves you, he always has, since third year I believe," Lauren was simply shaking her head, refusing to believe his words, they seemed too perfect, too surreal, too fake. "Ebony, Lauren, Nila, Colt, you listen to me right now," Fred's voice had a sterness she'd never heard before, all the traces of his usual cocky attitude were gone,"answer me one question, just one," Lauren nodded, strands of chestnut hair clinging to her wet cheeks. "who was the first person who came to your aid when Malfoy was insulting you," Lauren opened her mouth to answer but Fred but in,"think carefully, who's voice did you hear first?" Lauren's perfect, fair eyebrows furrowed in thought.  
"Sirius," she whsipered. "Exactly, not me, not George, even though we're your brothers, not Lily, not James, not even Remus," "It doesn't prove anything," "It doesn't prove anything? He came to you first, before your own brothers, and it doesn't prove anything?" Fred asked, disbelief washing over his warm face. "Say, hypothetically, I did believe you, why hasn't he told me?" Lauren asked, sadness flooding her teal eyes. "Why do you think Lauren? This isn't some passing crush, he's loved you since third year! How do you think he would feel if you rejected him? Your friendship would be destroyed for nothing!" Fred exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Fred, he's a player, he wouldn't know what love was if it hit him in the face," Lauren replied, she felt an internal jolt at insulting him.  
"Lauren, why won't you believe me?"  
"Because he could have anyone, anyone Fred!"  
"Yes but for some unknown reason, he wants you," "Why?" Lauren asked, her voice catching. "I don't know why," Fred admitted, wiping away her tears and pushing her short hair over her shoulders and away from her sticky face,"I just know he does," Lauren's breaths were short and jagged, sending shooting pains to her chest and her chest was rising and falling unnaturally, either too deep or too shallow. "Fred, I really wish I could believe you-" "You trust me, don't you?" Fred asked, his eyes swimming with kindness. "Yeah," Lauren breathed. "Then trust me and believe what I'm telling you," Fred was the last person Lauren thought she'd ever have reassuring and comforting her, he was always messing around, teasing and joking, this didn't seem like him, it was as though someone else was talking to her. "None of that matters anymore, truth or not, because it's never gonna happen, Nick has made his feelings clear and now, I have no choice," Lauren told him, fresh tears pouring down her pink cheeks. Fred secured his strong arms around his little sister, pulling her closer until her head was sobbing on his shoulder. "I will make it happen, If it's the last thing I ever do," Fred promised, brushing her hair through his fingers. "Fred," Lauren whispered, muffled by her sobs,"I love you,"  
"Wow, it only look fourteen years," he teased, smiling,"I love you too. And don't tell anyone I said that or I'll kill you," Lauren chuckled, it was a trace of her usual laugh but it was a laugh. "I promise I won't," Lauren replied, her head laying on his shoulder. "I'll take you to your dorm," Fred told her, getting up. Sliding his hand into hers, he pulled her up and walked over to the stairs. "But you can't go to girls dormitorys," Lauren commented confused, as he made no attempt to stop before the first marble stair. "Little trick I learnt," Fred told her and winked.

Pulling his wand out of his pocket, her flicked it twice, muttered a few incomprehensible words and started up the stairs. Lauren followed, her eyes wide and her brain muddled. Fred swiftly walked to their door, a wooden one marked 'Slytherin 4th Years' on a gold plaque, pushing it open, he cast his chocolate eyes around, checking that no one was around, unlikely since they'd all gone to Hogsmead, and Lauren followed in close persuit. Golden light was falling on the room, it looked light and airy and everything seemed to shine. The emerald drapes were an odd mixture of gold and their original colour, the brass doorknobs gleemed and the house elves had been in, made the beds so that they looked prestine and pure white again. Lauren headed straight for her bed, it was like it was beckoning her, the warmth and comfort it offered appealed to her as she climbed inside, wrapping the prestine duvet around her like a cocoon, protecting her from everything. Fred cautiously crossed the room, snapping his head for left to right and back again, soaking in every tiny detail. Her perched on the end of her bed, leaning against one of the wooden posters and drawing the drape around them, like a gleeming shield. Lauren's eyelids began to flutter, she felt the warmth pulling her but she refrained. "Fred," he looked up, his huge, brown eyes full of warmth and love for his little sister,"thanks," His eyes seemed to flood with more kindness. "I'm only protecting you, Nick thought he was but he only ended up hurting you," Fred replied, his voice hardning at the mention of Nick's name, his eyes flickering with hate. "I just don't know why it hurt me so much, pathetic right?" Lauren asked, her expression changing from hurt to annoyed. "No, I think you care for Sirius much more than you think," Fred told her, smiling, the warmth flooding back into his eyes. "I only realised, you know, when I read the letter, I'm not sure what I feel towards him," Lauren admitted, a blush creeping up her tear-stained cheeks. "Well, I'd say you at least fancy him," Fred mused, his eyes glazing over thoughtfully. Lauren's blush increased, she tried to hide it but Fred noticed and smiled at her, a ghost of the normal Fred back.  
"Hmm, I'm not exactly going to talk to you about it," Lauren replied, blushing still. "Who else are you going to talk to?" he asked, his voice turning serious again. "I...I don't know, I can't tell anyone, it feels..." Lauren tried to search for the right word but only one popped into her head,"weird," "Weird? I don't think I've ever heard that before," Fred replied, smiling. "It's like you suddenly notice every single detail about them, no matter how small, like even their bad points seem good, kinda perfect," Lauren said airily, then hearing herself she felt every single drop and trickle of blood in her body rise to her cheeks, she felt like her body had been drained, her cheeks felt red hot, like they'd give somebody third degree burns. Averting her teal eyes, she pulled at a thread on her duvet that had suddenly become very interesting. "Hmm, maybe you feel more for him than I thought," Fred mused, making her blush, if possible though she was sure it wasn't, more. "What am I going to do, Fred?" She asked, sighing and putting her head in her hands. "Date him," Fred replied simply.  
"Fred, I'm...I'm, kind of, well, I feel sort of..." Lauren trailed off, her voice fading to nothing. "You're what?" Fred asked, concern presenting itself on his face.  
"I'm..." Lauren looked down, her hands were dancing over one another and her eyes darted from one place to the next but never to Fred,"I'm worried," she whispered, barely audible. "What? Why?" Fred asked, his voice as serious as she'd ever heard it. "I'm only telling you this because you're here and I need to get it off my chest, alright? And if you tell anyone, I'll kill you." "I promise," "Well, since I'm only fourteen, obviously I've never felt like this before and I know that's so cheesy, but it's true and I'm worried that, that I'll..." she inhaled deeply,"I'll get hurt," Lauren whispered the last part, blushing. "Lauren, you can't understand how much he likes you, he woud never hurt you," Fred reassured her, smiling warmly. "Not intentionally," Lauren mumbled. "He'd never forgive himself. Plus, I'd kill him, with George of course," Fred replied, smirking. "What if he did though? I mean, even though it'd be completely accidental, I don't wanna get hurt," "Lauren, what's life without a little risk?" Fred asked, smiling. Seeking no answer to this, Lauren slid down the wooden headboard and was engulfed in warmth and comfort, yawning, she pulled the covers up to her chin and wrapped them around her body. "Now sleep," "It's like ten o'clock!" Lauren exclaimed. "You look really tired, go to sleep and I promise I'll be here when you wake up," "You can't stay here! It's a girls dormitory!" "Trust me, I always have a plan," Fred replied, winking. "Fine, I guess I'll see you when I wake," Lauren told him, sinking into the covers and letting the warmth absorbe her. A few seconds later, heavy breathing was filling the room and Lauren had fallen into a dream-filled sleep.

CHAPTER 15: JUST A DREAM

Lauren was walking up the winding, stone staircase, leading to the astronomy tower, the cool, summers breeze was tickling her face and swirling around her exposed arms. As she ventured closer, a fluttering feeling pranged in her stomach, she felt it moving around her whole body, swirling and coursing with her blood, her breaths became short, her legs felt like they were jelly, threatening to collapse underneath her. They started to ache from climbing the many stairs, her hands weren't staying in the same place for a second and as she approached the wooden door with the brass handle, her fingers were clenched and sore. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes to calm herself, she groped the cold, metal handle, flicked and pushed. A gust of warm summers air greeted her as she continued across the concrete floor, and that wasn't the only thing that greeted her. Sirius Black was waiting for her on the far side of the tower, his stormy eyes gazing up at the diamonds above, draped in silver moonlight. As soon as he heard the door close, he spun around and a smile lit up his whole face, Lauren felt her own muscles moving in her face, it was natural, they were working over their own accord. Gliding across the tower, her eyes were twinkling like the constalations above their heads, she walked over to where Sirius was standing and gazed up at the stars as well, the view from here was breathtaking, every single star, no matter how big or small could be seen. Lauren stopped a couple of inches in front of him, turning her teal eyes to his chistled features, angular jaw and stromy eyes that pulled you in, smiling, he took a step forward and gazed straight into her eyes, stormy grey into dazzling blue. She was a good few inches shorter, so she had to crane her neck to see his mysterious eyes and floppy, black hair but she didn't mind, he was slouching slightly and there was still at least five inches, he was well over six feet, maybe six three Lauren guessed and even though she was quite tall for her age, she was 5"7 and still growing, she could never match his eye level. Staring up into those misty eyes, Lauren thought she could get lost in them forever, they looked even more misty with silver light draping them and every feature of his face, Sirius just smiled at her, he wished he could freeze this moment and live in it forever. "Hey," Lauren breathed, mesmerised by his sculpted face and glazed eyes. "Hey," Sirius replied, laughing. More crevices appeared when he laughed, they would've made anyone else look older but not him, they only added to the impact his perfect features made. They stood there, draped in silver mist just staring, staring at each others concept of what beauty was, what each other loved most. "The stars look beautiful up here, they're so clear," Lauren eventually said, turning her eyes upwards. It was a perfect night; there wasn't a single cloud in sight, the moon and stars sparkled like expensive gems in the vast blackness. "True but they look incredibly dull compared to your eyes, did I ever tell you they sparkle exactly like stars when they catch the light?" Sirius asked, staring right into her eyes, it felt like he was staring right into her soul.  
"No, you've never told me that," Lauren replied, blushing a little. "Oh, well they do," Sirius told her, smiling at the blush that had appeared on her cheeks. "Oh," was all Lauren could manage, she was completely absorbed by his perfect face, how every crevice added to his allure. Sirius gently touched her cheeks where the blush was slowly deepening, brushing the side of her face with the tips of his fingers, Lauren felt like this moment was perfect, nothing could improve it more. "You know, you look so beautiful under the moonlight," Sirius complemented, staring at her in awe. "Seriously, if you don't stop there's not going to be any blood left in my lower body," Lauren replied, smiling. Sirius chuckled, caressing her face,that was illuminated in silver, and twirling a strand of chestnut hair around his pale finger. "You look cute when you blush," Sirius told her, smiling as it was deepening again. "I'm serious," Lauren replied, realising her mistake at once. "No, I'm Sirius," he answered, in the softest voice she'd ever heard him use. "That joke stopped being funny ages ago," Lauren said softly, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I know," he breathed, tickling her face with his warm, salty breath. They were a lot closer than before, their noses were nearly touching and their eyes had connected with each others, their gaze never dropping. "I remember in second year when I found out you guys were pranking Malfoy, you were the one that was unsure whether to tell me what you were doing, you said my promise meant nothing," Lauren's teal eyes glazed over in thought. "Well now your promise means everything," She felt goosebumps appearing on her exposed arms, they were prickling her skin and climbing up to her shoulders. "Then I actually helped you guys, his face when pumpkin juice splattered him and his friends, I swear as long as I live I'll never forget that," "I swear I'll never forget how pretty I thought you looked planning and scheming," "Aren't you forgetting?" Lauren asked, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow cocked. "What?" Sirius asked. "I'm a golden girl," Lauren replied and laughed, lighting her whol face up. "Then, what on earth is a golden girl like you doing with bad boy Black?" "Do you know, I have absoluelty no idea," Lauren replied smiling,"but I'm glad I am," Sirius looked meaningfully at her, caressing her cheek once more and moving towards her, Lauren didn't move, she stood still frozen with shock. She felt a pair of warm, moist lips crashing down on her own and it felt like electricity was coursing through her vains, she automatically started kissing back, her arms joining at the base of his neck, she'd had to stand on her tip-toes to reach him, his arms rested on her hip bones and they stayed looked together. Her toes began to complain but she ignored it, this moment was completely and utterly perfect, she was sure she could sacrifice a little comfort. They stayed locked like this for what felt like hours, it felt right, both of them wanted this to last for as long as they could, but soon Lauren's feet sunk back down to the ground and she was forced to pull away. "I'm too short," she complained pouting "No, you're perfect," Sirius countered, smiling. He leant in to kiss her again but she had stepped back, blushing. "I've had an idea," she explained, walking across the tower and pulling Sirius along with her, by the hand, they reached the marble bench that had been there as long as anyone could remember. Grabbing his shoulder for support, she hopped up onto the bench making her still only a couple of inches taller but a couple of inches was all she needed, leaning down, for once in her life, she locked their lips again, only stopping to breath. "See? I'm tall now," Lauren told him, smiling. "I thought the girl was suppose to be shorter?" "Urgh, shut up," Lauren said, kissing him again.

Lauren's eyelids fluttered, her teal eyes shining in the moonlight that was now draping the empty room, she assumed it was around seven and Fred had gone for dinner. A silver mist was covering the dormitory, rubbing her eyes, she slid up from the shield of the warm covers and leant back against the headboard. The dream she'd just had was replaying in her mind like a movie, unfloding each of the scenes with a new shock, clamping her eyes shut to make it stop, she pushed all of the thoughts and feelings of that dream to the back of her mind and cleared it. Grabbing her wand that was lying on the wooden bed-side table, she cast a charm that told the time and 7:32 appeared in acid green writing in front of her eyes, with another flick of her wand, the writing was gone as soon as it had came and she was plunged into darkness once more. Sighing, she felt her body ache as she slid further and further up and away from the snug, soothing duvet. Lauren felt sick, her head was pounding against her skull like a drum and she was sweating considerably more than normal, even though the dormitory was freezing cold, as always. Touching her cheek, she felt them burning red hot, the blood was slowly falling back down to the rest of her body but her cheeks were the warmest thing in the dark room. Snippets of the dream were slipping through the invisible block she'd put it place to stop her thinking about it, she'd seen herself kissing Sirius, blushing and accepting the compliments he'd given her and cringing at the names they'd been dobbed by Pansy, Malfoy, Annabeth and Blaise. Something about the way Sirius had said 'golden girl' made goosebumps appear on her arms and her stomach flutter faster than it ever had before, when Pansy said it, she'd spit the word out like it was posion, a cuss word, dirty but the way he had said it with his smooth, silky voice made it sound as if it was the most beautiful word in the world, she was sure he could even make blood tratior and mudblood sound attractive. Shaking her head, she dismissed all the thoughts that were swimming around her head, consuming her and racked her brain for something else to think about. Nothing came to her. Still nothing. Nope. Nothing. Wait! Nope, false alarm. Groaning, she slid back into the thoughts about her dream, letting them fill he head and make her feel things she'd never before, as cliche as it sounded, Lauren thought about how all the romance books were true, she'd borrowed some from Lily one summer and read them between Quidditch matches, muggles were surprisingly good authors, everything thing they'd said, all the feelings they had said they'd felt, that Lauren had groaned and rolled her eyes at, they were all true. A painfully familair voice interupted her thoughts. "What do you mean she's asleep?" Sirius' outraged voice came, snarling like a lion cornering its prey. "Shh! Do you wanna wake her up?" Fred hissed, matching his anger. "Well she mysteriously disappears at breakfast after some letter, you guys won't tell us about, then we don't see her all day and she's not at dinner, and now you're telling us we won't see her again because she's asleep? Convinent," Sirius shot back, his voice rising. "Sirius, shut up, you'll wake her up!" Lily snapped, concern in her voice. "Yeah, if she's even asleep," Sirius replied. "Look, what do you want us to do?" George responded. "Tell the truth," Sirius snapped. "We are telling you the truth! She's asleep and she's exhuasted, so I'll thank you to lower your voice," Fred retorted sternly. "Look, we're not trying to cause trouble-" James started, a lot calmer than Sirius. "Why do I find that hard to believe," Fred injected, sounding furious. "Fred, let him speak," George told his younger brother. "Like I said, we're not trying to cause trouble or annoy you guys, we're just worried about her," James said, his voice rising slightly. "She's fine, like we said she's just tired," Fred replied. "We're just suppose to take your word for that, are we?" Sirius asked in an icy voice. "Sirius!" Remus snapped. "What exactly is that suppose to mean?" Fred snapped, anger blazing in his voice. "I'm just saying it all seems terribly convinent, she doesn't show up all day and now she's asleep," Sirius replied icily. "I really don't like what you're insinuating," Fred said, just as icy. "Fred! Calm down!" George ordered. "What? I'm just suppose to stand here while he accuses us of whatever he think's is going on?" "Look, we just wanted to check she was okay," Remus replied, in a calm and soothing voice. "We were only worried," Lily added, you could hear the smile in her voice. "We understand but If anything was wrong, we'd look after her, we're her brothers," George replied. "We know, it's just no ones seen her today," Remus told them.  
"Bit suspicious, huh?" Sirius injected. "Excuse me?" Fred snapped, raising his voice again. "Sirius, please," George pleaded. "You've checked, she's okay and now please leave," Fred told them bluntly. "No, you've told us she's okay," Sirius sniped. "Are you calling me a liar?" Fred asked, his voice icy. "Fred, stop it! If you guys wouldn't mind..." George left the sentence hanging but they got the idea. Lauren heard the a door swing open and close seconds later, she was completely awake now, not a single bit of her was tired.

Looking expectantly at the door, she waited until her brothers reappeared. She heard their voices growing closer, like someone had turned up the volume, and a couple of seconds later they walked in, surprised to see their sister awake. They stopped dead in the doorway when they noticed her teal eyes watching them, Fred looked quite red faced, his fists were clenched and you could hear his teeth grinding, George on the other hand was fully calm, soothing his brother and trying to calm him. "I suppose you heard that?" Fred asked, traces of anger in his voice. Lauren nodded, she'd never seen Fred this angry, he was scaring her and she couldn't find her voice. "Fred, would you calm down?" George asked, his voice as smooth as silk. "I didn't like what he was insinuating," "Well, technically you guys were lying to them," Lauren injected, her voice soft. "Take his side, why not?" Fred snapped. "I was just saying," Lauren replied, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. Fred's expression softened considerably, all the anger left his huge, brown eyes and they flooded with warmth once again, his teeth stopped grinding and his fists relaxed. "I know, sorry," Fred apologised, the warmth resuming to his voice. "I had no idea he cared about you that much, he was furious," George told her, Lauren felt her cheeks go slightly pink but George just grinned,"and from what Fred's told me, apparently the feelings mutual," she felt the blush deepen, her cheeks were burning, yet again, this seemed to be a regular thing now, and tried to conceal it. "So?" Lauren asked, desperate to cool her cheeks down. "So nothing," George replied, in the friendliest voice he'd ever used with anyone. "Oh," Lauren said shocked, she'd expected some jibe about Sirius or George to be slightly angry but he was as calm as ever. "He's gonna keep trying," Fred injected, friendly once again. Lauren sighed, she knew he would, of course he would, he was worried about her, but as a friend or more? "So, what do we do?" George asked, concern hitting his voice. "You're gonna have to face him sometime, Lau," Fred told her, making his voice as soft as possible. A small groan escaped her pale lips, Lauren massaged her temples with her fingers, she didn't want to do that. Ever. "I don't want to!" Lauren exclaimed, groaning again. "You don't really have a choice," George added. "I know, can't I just lock myself away forever?" Lauren asked. George and Fred chuckled, it was scary how in sync they were sometimes. "No, not really," "Lauren, It'll be okay," Fred assured her. "But what if I start acting differently? What if I make a complete pratt of myself?" Lauren asked, exasperated. "Seriously Lauren, you won't," "But it's all different now!" "Why is it different?" George asked, his huge eyes watching her. "She thinks he's perfect," Fred teased, smirking. "I didn't mean that!" Lauren shouted, blushing deep crimson. "Fred, don't tease her," George told his younger brother sternly. "This is all such a mess!" Lauren complained, rubbing her forehead. "It's all Nick's fault, we were fine with you being allowed to date anyone you wanted and being oblivious," Fred blamed. "What am I going to do?" "I guess you'll have to tell him?" "NO!" Lauren shouted,"no, I don't wanna do that," "Lauren-" "No, I am not telling him! That's final," "Okay, okay, fine." "Where are the rest of my dorm?" Lauren asked. "They'll along later, I guess," "But we got premission from Professor MaGonagal to stay here with you," Fred told her, beaming. "How? What did you say?" she asked, amazed. "We said you were ill and we wanted to take care of you," "Oh, okay," Lauren replied, yawning, the tiredness that had vanished before was slowly consuming her again. "Sleep!" Fred ordered. "Fine, Fine," Lauren said, sliding under the warm covers and falling alseep almost instantly.

CHAPTER 16: AN INVISABILITY CLOAK, A MAP AND THE SLYTHERIN DORMS

MEANWHILE "Prongs, can I ask a favour?" Sirius asked, his misty eyes alight with mischeif. "If you're still obsessing over Lauren then no," James replied, he was reading an electric blue book about hexes he'd gotten from the library at his house. Sirius didn't say anything, he just stood there watching James flip the creamy pages. "What, Padfoot?" "Well, I was wondering if I could borrow your cloak-"  
"Wait!" James exclaimed, closing his book and placing it on the bed side table,"you want to go out after hours, break into the Slytherin common room, then break into the girls dorms, run the risk of being caught by girls, who'd get the wrong impression intirely, run the bigger risk of bumping into her brothers just because you have a hunch?" "Yes," Sirius answered, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Padfoot, I swear you're like in love with Lauren," James told him, rolling his eyes,"but I'll give you the cloak, on one condition," "What?" Sirius asked, cocking a dark, arched eyebrow. "I'm coming with you," James announced, getting up off of his four poster bed covered with ruby drapes. "Why?" Sirius asked, curiousity gripping him. "Because, like I said I think you're in love with her, you'll just end up taking stupid and pointless risks," James explained, pulling his glasses into their original position and rooting around underneath his bed. "Okay. One, I'm not in love with her and two, we should take the map as well," Sirius told his best friend. "Of course you're not," James answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm,"and exactly what I was thinking," James pulled out a creamy-brown piece of what looked like old parchment that had been stained and a silver material that felt and looked like silk but was more transparent. Grabbing their wands, they crossed their room they shared with three other Gryffindor boys, snuck down to the Gryffindor common room, which was filled with the sound of the last embers of the dwindling fire burning out, and opened the portraite hole. Throwing the cloak over themselves, James fished the map and his wand out of his back pocket, opened the map to it's full size, tapped it once with his wand and muttered,"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,". At once drips of black ink began to appear, twisting and twirling into writing and drawings, small footprints were moving along the many corridors of Hogwarts, with the name of the person printed in ink next to their steps, they had never checked the map for Lauren before and thye both gawped at it in shock. Lauren had told them that she'd asked to be called by 'Lauren' since she was old enough to speak, that she'd changed her name when she was younger and hardly anyone knew it but printed in the Slytherin dorms, next to her footsteps, was the name 'EBONY LAUREN NILA COLT'. "Ebony? Hmm, I don't see what's wrong with that," Sirius mused, glazing his stromy eyes over the brown map. "You don't see anything wrong with her," James told his friend, rolling his eyes,"but you're right, It's a nice name," "She should try having 'Sirius' as a first name, sometime," "I thought you liked your name?" James asked. "I do, I was just saying, it get's a lot of jokes," "Yeah, all of them made by you," Styffling his laughter, Sirius followed James down the pink, marble corridor, careful not to make a sound, he had to crouch quite a bit because he was nearly 5"11 and growing, they tip-toed down the staircase, watching out for the trick step on their way, Peeves was always up to something, and crept through the gleeming, marble entrance hall, their shoes squeaking slightly on the polished floor, silver moonlight was bouncing off every wall, reflecting it in every direction. They decended into the cold, dingy dungeons, goosebumps prickling their arms, and walked up to the portraite leading to the Slytherin common room, figuring they'd been to sleepy to check, they mumbled something, the portraite didn't even open his eyes, it smung open and they were spat into the common room. The Slytherin common room looked completely uninviting compared to the Gryffindor one, it was dark, even though moonlight was pouring through the window, they had a roaring fire and illuminationg candles, it was freezing, being located in the dungeons and everything, and the emerald colours made it look evil and malicious. "I'd hate for this place to be my common room," Sirius hissed as they crossed it and walked over to the marble stairs leading to the girls dorms. "Same, it's so dark and dingy," James stopped dead, they hadn't thought this plan over intirely, the staircase would transfrom into a slide as soon as they set foot on one gleeming step. "Fred taught me a spell," Sirius told his best friend. Whipping out his wand, he spun it around him and James, it emitted a crimson ribbon around them, and tapped it once, making sparks fly out the end. "After you," James tentively tip-toed onto the first step, much to his surprise and Sirius' amusment, the stairs remained intact, and they climbed up the whole case, following the layout of the Gryffindor dorms they headed down the marble staircase. "Nice spell, Padfoot," James said as they silently glided down the corridor. "Thanks, I knew it'd come in handy," Sirius replied, smirking. "Could you teach me?" "I doubt Lily would approve of you learning a spell that let's you enter the girls dormitory's," Sirius teased, his smirk growing. "Oh, okay. I'll just ask Lauren, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to learn that you know it," James shot back, smirking. "Fine, I'll teach you," "You are so in love with her," "Shhh!" They approached the wooden door that had 'Slytherin fourth Years' written on a brass plaque, James was clutching the handle and was just about to flick his wrist, when Sirius yanked his arm away and pointed to the map. Next to Lauren were to other figures named 'FRED COLT' and 'GEORGE COLT' and it was clear they were awake because they were pacing the room. "How are they in there?" Sirius hissed, looking a mixture of anger and jealousy. "They're her brothers Padfoot! They probably got permission or something," James replied, watching the map. "I guess but why would they need it? Unless something was wrong, I told you!" "Fine, we'll go in, check on your girlfriend and get out, got it? No dawdling because I don't fancy getting caught and having to explain what we were doing in a girls dorm to Lily," James whispered. "Okay, I got it," Sirius replied, twisiting the brass knob and throwing it open. James looked at him quzzingly but Sirius just held a finger to his pale lips and smirked. "What was that?" George asked, standing up and closing the door quietly. "Dunno, wind I guess," Fred replied, obviously bugged by other things. "Anyway, like I was saying, we have to do something Fred, she's obviously not happy," George said, sympathy swimming in his huge, brown eyes. James and Sirius exchanged a worried glance and listened. "I know, but there's nothing we can do, you know she takes Nick's word as the law," Fred replied, looking gloomy, indigo circles underlining his brown eyes. "There must be something! He can't just ban her from dating him, if she wants to it's her choice," George exclaimed, looking equally as tired and worn out. "But he has and she won't do anything to counter the gospel according to Nick," Fred replied, rolling his eyes. "Just because he has problems with the family, he doesn't have to drag it on, mum wasn't best pleased about them being friends but she didn't take this pointless argument to the next generation," George hissed, folding his arms across his chest. "Well, maybe he'll kill Nick," Fred joked, laughing darkly. "Oh yeah, just like his family, nice," George said sarcastically. "No, they didn't kill anyone! Plus they only hate muggles and muggle-borns," Fred countered. "I don't know, he seems to really like her, I don't think he's gonna give up," George mused, his eyes glazing over. "Urgh, leave it to our sister to make the son of the family our family hates to fall in love with her," "Okay, what?! I got completely lost and he's not in love with her!" George whispered, his eyes wide,"is he?" "Who knows? Mum's gonna be pleased, Lauren's finally got a boyfriend," "One, he is not her boyfriend-"  
"Yet," Fred cut in. "and two, I doubt she had the son of the woman she hates in mind," "No, I'm with you on that. He's a nice guy, It could be worse," Fred answered. "Exactly, we're lucky it was him," "It could've been Malfoy," Fred said and grimaced. "Well, the sooner he gets over her the better," George told his brother. "What?" Fred asked, his eyes wide in shock. "You didn't know?" George asked. "No! No one told me Malfoy wished to swap spit with our sister!" Fred exclaimed. "Shhh! You'll wake everyone up! I'm not exactly extatic about it either," "I'm glad it's Sirius that fancies her then, I'd hate her to be with that pratt," Fred hissed, spitting out the word pratt. Under the cloak, Sirius had frozen, James was watching him with shock in his honey eyes, their eyes met and they shared an 'how do they know?' look.  
"Well, she could end up with that pratt considering what Nick said," George whispered, gloom washing over his face. "No, I am not letting her be with Malfoy, I'd rather kill him," Fred hissed, anger in his features. "Well, we both know her and Sirius would be good together but Nick has forbid it and there's nothing we can do," George reasoned. "Well, what if we kill Nick and Malfoy?" Fred asked. "Then we can get our souls sucked out by dementors, such fun!" George replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "We wouldn't, we'd just go mad in prision," "Oh, yeah, that screams fun," "Okay, okay. No killing, maybe we could talk to Nick? I mean, if Lauren's right about him, that he's nothing like his family and we can prove it to Nick, than he might soften?" Fred asked. "Fred!" "What?" "That's actually a good idea!" "I do have those occasionally," "He's already got the proof though, he's in Gryffindor, he's spending most of his summers at the Potter's, and he doesn't exactly scream evil," George sighed. "Yeah, that's a good point. Merlin, of all the girls he could've chosen why did it have to be Lauren?" Fred sighed. "I don't know, I can't exactly read his mind and I'm not gonna analyse her from a dating point of view, because that'd be weird," "Well, she's got...nice skin?" Fred asked and him and George cracked up. "You think Sirius fancies Lauren because she's got nice skin?" "No! Well, you know they say girls like bad boys, maybe it works the other way around?" Fred asked, doubt crossing his face. "What? He fancies her because she's a good girl?" George asked. "Why does this sound really sexual?" "EW! Fred!" "It does!"  
"That's your sister and Sirius Black!" "I know! Anyway, I don't know, maybe he likes her because they have a lot in common?" Fred asked. "What? Quidditch?" "Yeah, suppose. I'm going with my theory of he likes her because she's a goody goody," Fred told his brother. "Really? I don't think so," George said, looking doubtful. "Well, it worked for Lily and James, didn't it?" "Yeah, but that was different, James isn't like Sirius,"  
"Hmm, I guess so," Fred agreed. "We'll have to go with the nice skin theory," George said, fighting a smile. "I wonder what she see's in him?" Fred mused, turning serious. "You mean if she does," "You don't think she does?" "I think it's possible she could fancy him back but there's a difference between feeling and admitting," George replied. "Wait, I'm confused. You think she does?" "I told you, it's possible," George answered. "But if you had to make an educated guess..." Fred prompted, raising his eyebrows. "If I had to guess, I'd say she does," Sirius couldn't believe his ears, he glanced at James who was looking exactly how Sirius felt. "Maybe they both have nice skin?" Fred asked, smirking. "Maybe, I'll have to check his tomorrow at breakfast," Fred laughed, his chocolate eyes flooding with warmth.  
"He's too suspicious though, he knew we were lying about Lauren," George told his brother, his features turning serious again. "I know, we'll just have to lie for tomorrow, then she just has to aviod the awkward questions in lessons," Fred replied, humour disappearing from his face. "I don't know, I think we should tell them, not the whole truth but just a little," George mused. "You saw how he got before!" Fred exclaimed, thowing his hands up. "You looked scared," "I wasn't scared!" Fred snapped,"he's just quite tall," Anger radiating off his complection. "Whatever you say. Good thing Lauren's oblivous because I swear he stares at her everyday," Under the cloak, Sirius felt his cheeks warming, he hardly ever blushed, it was a strange feeling. James was holding back laughter, his pale hand was clamped tightly over his mouth, Sirius was scowling at him. "Yeah but that shows just how much he cares about her, plus the further she stays away from Regulus the better," Fred replied, the protective brother mode back on. "I'm with you on that, Regulus is bad news. I don't know, maybe he loves her?" George responded sounding skeptical. "I hope not," Fred snapped, clamping his hand over his mouth immediatly after. But George understood, he didn't want Lauren to be in love either, so many dangers, too many feelings, too many risks for her getting hurt.  
"I don't want her to have a boyfriend either but if she likes him..." George let the sentence fade and wither away, uncompleted. James and Sirius' legs began to hurt from crouching, sharp pains were shooting Sirius' back, even though he was crouching, he'd still had to hunch his shoulders to make sure the cloak covered their ankles, they weren't the tiny first years they once were. James shoved his glasses back onto the top of his nose, ruffling his untidy hair, he slowly sunk onto the soft, carpeted floor and sat crossed-legged, silver,misty monlight covering them both. "Listen, maybe we should write to Nick? Explain everything about Sirius, I know Nick resents him for what his mother did to ours but he needs to put that all behind him," Fred suggested. "We should wait a few days, let him cool down," George replied, knitting his eyebrows together. "Yeah, meanwhile we need to think of a cover story for why Lauren's not gonna be with her friends tomorrow," Fred considered. "Yeah, it needs to be convincing," "Just say she's ill again?" Fred asked, rubbing his temples and ruffling his hair, which fell perfectly back into place. "Great, than we can be verbally attacked by Sirius," George replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "again," Fred added smiling. "Yes, again. I just wish we could convince her to tell, at least him, the truth, he does care about her and he's not gonna stop," George replied, empathy flooding his warm features. "It's up to her, if she trusts him enough, she will," Fred told his brother looking less sympathetic and more unsure. "She trusts him and all her friends but what would she say? Sorry the letter was about Sirius, my brothers friend works here and told him that he fancied me and Nick forbid me to date him but it's all okay because Fred and George are on the case," "Okay, I'll admit, she'd struggle to find the right words but surely you don't think she should stay locked up in here?" Fred asked, councern sweeping his voice. "Of course I don't! But if we try to rule her life, we're no better than Nick," George reasoned. "I suppose," though he didn't sound thoroughly convinced,"maybe we should talk to Sirius?" "And tell him what? We know he's in love with our sister and we have an inkling she might feel the same?" "I don't know, as much as I hate to admit it, if she's gonna talk to anyone, it'll be him," Fred admitted. "Really? She'll talk to the person this whole things about?" George asked, raising his dark eyebrows. "I know but she might let a few details slip, just about the letter and Nick telling her she couldn't date someone, bend the truth slightly?" Fred replied. "I doubt it, anyway we'll lie tomorrow and then she'll just have to aviod the questions in classes." George told his little brother. "Okay, I just hope Sirius takes it better," Fred admitted, smiling sheepishly. "You are scared of him!" George exclaimed, smirking. "What?! I am not scared of someone whose younger than me!" He snapped back, furious. "Whose almost as tall as you," George added, winking. "I'm not scared of him, it just annoys me how worried he is," "It annoys you that he cares enough about our sister to see how she is?" "No, I'm glad about the caring part but it also annoys me," "You're right, we'll make Lauren be friends with people who couldn't give a crap," George replied, shaking his head in disbelief, making his floppy hair sway. "I didn't mean that," Fred defended. "I know, we should probably get some sleep," George suggested, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "How? We're meant to be staying with Lauren while she's ill," Fred mused, massaging his temples. "Good point, we might as well babysit in comfort," With a wave of his wand, two brown, leather chairs appeared by Lauren's bed looking tattered by comfy. "Thanks," Fred replied, collapsing into the chair making the leather wrinkle and squish, George sunk into the other one. For the first time Sirius turned his attention to Lauren, she had wrapped the perstine duvet around her body, her chestnut hair was vivid against the pure white pillow and her face was expressionless, her perfect, pale lips open slightly. He felt his fingers twitch as he longed to stroke her sliky, tawny hair, as he longed to caress her pale face and blushed cheeks, she looked, if possible, even more perfect to him asleep. All the feelings he'd felt, all the thoughts he'd thought, all the features he'd learned to love, they all suddenly seemed to make sense, sleeping on a wooden four poster bed draped in emerald he saw what he longed for, what he wanted to have all to himself, what he loved. She was perfect to him, smart, pretty, kind, but snappy and fiesty, she was everything he wanted. The feelings had first hit at the beginning of firstyear but he dismissed them as nothing, when they persisted he realised he fancied her and he thought it was a silly crush but after a year and a half he knew that they wouldn't go away, wouldn't fade, they would be there for as long as he still kept the truth from her, for as long as he crushed in secret, they would only disappear when he told her and then she would make her decision. That was the only part Sirius hated the idea of, he relished in the idea of finally getting the weight lifted off his chest, finally declare his feelings for her, tell her all the thoughts he'd had since third year, tell her how perfect she was, how much he loved her, but if she rejected him, it would be impossible to bare. He didn't know where he'd go from there, they could probably rekindle their friendship, it was definetly strong enough, but he would never be able to stop these feelings, to push them back, it was hard enough at the moment but with her knowing, it would be excruciating. Sirius would be sitting in History Of Magic or potions and notcied how her chin fitted perfectly in the crook of her arm, how her hair washed down her back in a mane of chestnut silk, how her eyes glittered when she'd found something interesting or how a blush tickled her cheeks when a teacher gushed about how perfect her answer was, how her hand would move impossibly fast over the parchment when she was taking notes and how the freckles on her cheeks looked stratigically placed. Then Remus, James or Lily would snap him out of his thoughts, but they would still linger, wizzing around his brain, reminding him constantly how beautiful she really was, how much he really loved her, how distraught he would be if she didn't feel the same. Her teal eyes would glitter like diamonds in any light, natural or artifical, strong or dim, they would glitter, making his stomach churn uncomfortably and his mind turn to mush. He loved how her pale arm would always shoot sraight up when a question was asked in class, how she was completely innocent but when soemone insulted her or her friend, she was straight there, fiestyness at the ready. He snapped out of his thoughts long enough to see James terrified face, a tall, muscly figure striding towards the exact spot where they were crouched and the furious eyes of Fred Colt.

Grabbing him by the colar of his white, fitted shirt, Fred yanked him up, Sirius' feelt stumbled slightly under the strengh, and pinned in against the wall, his wand inches from Sirius' throat. Rubbing the back of his head with the hand that wasn't pinned against the wall, Fred had pulled him up with every inch of fury his blazing chocolate eyes were showing and Sirius had hit his head against something, he stared at Fred in shock; the ususal warmth and friendlyness had left his angular face and was replaced by hatred and anger. George was pulling James up, with no where near as much viciousness, and he looked a ghost of the fury that Fred did but then that's how you knew he was really angry; George never got angry, he was always calm and serine, so when he did you knew there was something very wrong, it was almost as scary as Fred, almost. Fire blazing in their unusally angry eyes, they stared at both the boys, Fred looked even more furious, his huge, brown eyes narrowing and his fist curled tightly around his wand, as tight as he could hold it before it would snap, George mirrored his a anger but something else washed over his features, it almost looked like understanding. Sirius felt Fred's hold on his collar tighten as comprehension dawned on his face, struggling for breath, he reached for his own wand but his fingers groped the air, they tightened around nothingness. "What are you doing here?" Fred snarled, his bottom lip curling and his eyes blazing. James was backed against the wall with George's wand pointed pointed square at his chest, his hazel eyes flecked with fear. Sirius could barely breath now with Fred's tightening grip, he wouldn't waste it on talking and even if he did, how could he begin? What would he tell Lauren's furious older brothers? How could he find an excuse for breaking into the Slytherin girls dorms? "Fred, let him go, you're chocking him," George told his younger brother. Sirius felt Fred's fingers twitch, it felt like they were getting tighter if anything, his fingers flexed again, then slowly, his grip on Sirius' colar loosened and he released the strangled boy. Sirius leg's buckled under the sudden weight, he fell to the fluffy, spongy carpet, which softened the thud slightly, and began rubbing the back of his head, it was pounding and it felt like someone was playing the drums with it. Lauren stirred in her bed, turning over and twisitng the douvet closer, her heavy breaths had subsided and everyone was watching her wide eyed, then her head rested on the cotton pillow and her heavy breaths resumed. The four boys sighed, relief flooding back into their eyes which had resumed to their normal size, then the tention mounted even more, it was almost tangible in the air. George slipped out his wand again, held it up to the other side of the room, he hissed "silencio!" and a transparent, mulitcoloured shield, much like a bubble, curled and entertwined around her bed, muffling the sound. Sirius slowly stood up, weary of his legs collapsing again, he shuffled closer to James, the silver light making his stormy eyes mist over, and they looked into the furious eyes of Fred and George; blazing, chocolate eyes into stormy grey and warm, hazel. "I asked you what you were doing," Fred snarled, his voice icy and curt. Neither Sirius or James answered, they just darted their worried eyes from one brother to another, Fred's piercing gaze had landed on him, rage radiating off him like heat off the sun, Sirius shifted uncomfortably as he kept his stormy eyes glued to the floor. James noticed that Sirius wasn't going to speak any time soon, straightened his glasses, ruffled his hair and clenched his fists. "We were just, we just wanted, we didn't mean to evesdrop," James stuttered, feeling heat rising to his cheeks. "So you were just lurking under an invisibility cloak by chance?" Fred shot back, his lip curled back, his eyes smoldering. "Well, no," James ruffled his already unruely hair,"we were just worried," Finding some of his confidence back, he stood a little taller and threw his shoulders back. "I don't see why, you don't think we'd let harm come to her, do you?" Fred snapped, his voice cold and hard. "No, of course we didn't, we just, just wanted to know, you know, the truth," James had whispered towards the end of the sentence, feeling his shoulders slump. "I'm taking it, it wasn't your idea?" Fred asked, his voice just as icy and brutal as before, his gaze fell, not by much since he was nearly as tall, on Sirius. Sirius glanced into Fred's eyes, severe, chocolate boring into dusty, nervous. "Well,-" James started but Sirius cut him off. "No, James had nothing to do with it," He answered, wondering if they heard the apprehension in his usually cocky, unwavering voice. "Why can't you just leave our sister alone?" Fred asked, some of the anger leaving his brown eyes. James smiled as did George. "If you're gonna hit me, can you hit my left side please? It's just the rights my best," Sirius replied, feeling arrogance replacing the nervousness. A smile was playing on Fred's lips, taunting and teasing him, tempting him to smile, eventually he gave in. "You really are something, you know that?" Fred asked, trying to crease his brow into a frown and straighten out his lips. "Thanks," Sirius replied, relief flooding through his body. "It wasn't a complement," Fred told him, his brow dipping slightly. "I know," Sirius answered, shrugging. "How much did you hear?" George asked, a seriousness sweeping over his face. James and Sirius looked at the floor, Sirius' redening slightly and James glasses falling to the bridge of his nose. "Ah, then we have a problem," Fred admitted, his brown eyes warming scarcely.  
"Because she," George pointed to Lauren,"will kill us," "Actually," Fred said, his chocolate eyes resuming their usual friendlyness and warmth,"he does have nice skin, Georgieee," George laughed, his features returning their normal humour and kindness. "Anyway," George commented, rolling his eyes and looking exactly like Lauren,"We still have a problem, you two heard stuff you shouldn't have," "Can I ask you guys a question?" Sirius asked, his eyes misting over. "Sure," "Why does your mum and brother hate my family?" "Wow, that's it? We discussed how the nicknames Pansy gave you sound sexual, why you like Lauren, if she likes you back, your brother and what you guys have in common-"  
"How Fred's scared of you," "I am not! Anyway, what you guys have in common and that's the question you ask? That's the one you choose? You know what, forget it, fine, it's up to you," Fred told them, smiling. "Er, yeah," Sirius replied, looking straight at them. "Really? What is wrong-"  
"Fred shut up, we get it. Anyway, we'll tell you but first we need more chairs," George said, charming the ones already there over to where they were standing and summoning two more, taking their seats on the soft, leather, George checked everyone was ready and began,"Our mothers were close, out of all of the community they were the closest, from what I gather they've been friends since school. When your mother was pregant with you, she came to ours for advice, she was nervous about having children and she needed support, our mother having already had five of us by then was happy to help her and they grew closer as time went on. By the time Regulus was born, they had become inseperable, they were best friends. Your mother, she had this idea, a plan, if you like, she wanted to bring you and your brother up as dark wizards, when you were old enough, she planned to introduce you to the dark arts. You see, she felt that all pure bloods should be brought up like that and, once again, she turned to our mum for support, she thought with six children she'd be willing and that she would share her views but she was wrong. When she confided in our mother, when she told her she wanted you and Regulus to be dark wizards, mum completely disagreed with her but your mum told her she had no choice, our mum still refused, she wanted to bring us up as good wizards and witches, as far away from the dark arts as possible. She didn't like that at all, your mum was counting on her best friend for support and when she didn't recieve any, in fact quite the opposite, she stormed out of our house and their friendship was broken. That's why I recognised you in Diagon Alley, you'd been to our house several times and when our parents had a fight, you and Lauren were around three, I was four and the others remembered because they were a lot older but Nick was the oldest, he would've been around ten at the time and he was the only one of us who could remember the story fully. That's why he..." George trailed off. "Hates me," Sirius finished for him, looking glum. "No, he doesn't hate you, he just holds you acountable for everything that's happened involving your family, he was the one that saw mum distraught when she'd lost her best friend and he resents anyone who carries the Black surname," George explained, smiling. "But, on the bright side, I think he dislikes you least," Fred injected, his features flooded with warmth. "So, is that what the letter said?" Sirius asked, looking slightly happier now the brothers didn't hate him too. "Well, the letter, now that's a difficult subject, you've got to remember Nick saw his own mother crying over her best friend when he was only ten," George cautioned him, slipping the creamy, thick parchment out of his pocket. "Er, okay," Sirius replied, suddenly nervous to what the letter might say. George extended a pale hand with the expensive parchment clasped in his hand, eyeing it anxiously, Sirius took it and slowly opened the rich, smooth letter. He started to read, his stormy eyes glidng left and right across the coligraphy and the creamy parchment, he was holding it loosely in his hands, as though it was something scary, as though it was dirty. When he'd finished reading, he handed it back, a sadness to his eyes that were normally filled with cocky and arrogance, he felt like someone had kicked him in the chest, his insides froze as well as his tongue. "What? Padfoot, what does it say?" James asked, worry in his voice. George handed him the letter, his eyes on Sirius the whole time, and sunk back into his comfy chair. "It's just Nick's-" "I understand," Sirius injected, smiling warmly at the two of them though the sadness hadn't left his eyes. "We don't like it either," George commented, in an understanding way, he was always empathizing with people. "Infact, as you probably heard, we were gonna kill him-"  
"Fred! You can't say that, he's your brother!" George hissed, his eyes furious. "And Lauren's my sister! He can't control her life, it's not fair to her," Fred hissed back, matching George's anger. Meanwhile, James had stopped reading, slid his glasses back and ruffled his hair, making it stick out in angles that seemed impossible, he was staring at the creamy, expensive parchment with a glint of anger in his hazel eyes. "He can't do that though, surely?" James asked, disbelief washing over his face. "She'll do anything Nick asks her to, she wouldn't disobey him," George explained, the left side of his mouth pulling down. "I guess he's just trying to protect her," Sirius mused. "Don't defend him!" Fred hissed. "Telling somebody what they can and can't do isn't protecting them, it's controlling them!" James exclaimed, voicing the anger Fred felt. "But if she's happy-" Sirius started. "Does she look happy to you? Ever since she got that letter, have you seen her happy, has she laughed or even smiled?" Fred asked, raising his eyebrows. "I haven't seen her since-" "Well, we have and she doesn't look happy," Fred cut off, wincing at the thought of it. "I guess so," Sirius replied, not looking up. "You're right about one thing, Nick think's he's protecting her but he's not, he's just controlling her," Fred replied. "We're trying to help," "But I thought you said she'd do anything Nick asked?" Sirius asked, confusion washing over him. "Exactly, we're trying to make him reconsider, we'll go home for christmas, just like the letter says," Fred explained. "But why?" Sirius asked and three pairs of eyes looked at him in disbelief,"what? What did I do?" "It's what you're not doing," George told him, a smile pulling at his lips. "What am I not doing?" Sirius asked.  
"Seeing!" Fred exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Er, I'm pretty sure I can see," Sirius retorted, more confused then before. "Dear oh dear, Padfoot," "What? Will someone please tell me what I did? Or didn't do," "Okay, this is gonna be painful," George sighed. "You and Lauren, right, got that?" Fred asked, sarcastically. "Yes, I've got that," "Good. You fancy her right?" Fred continued. "Well, yeah," Sirius mumbled, averting his gaze and feeling his cheeks blush red. "Don't worry, we're not gonna kill you," George assured, smiling warmly. "Yet, you're third," "Fred, shut up, we're not killing anyone, especially not Sirius," "Calm it, I was kidding, you're fourth," "Fred!" "Okay, okay," Fred said, rolling his eyes,"now, we don't know whether she likes you back,"  
"Since she won't tell us," "But, assuming she does, she wouldn't act because of Nick, right?" "Yeah...?" Sirius answered, desperatly trying to cool his cheeks. "Well, if she doesn't date you, she'll date someone else," Sirius felt truely sick at the idea of having to watch Lauren kiss another guy, laugh and joke, watch someone else make her face light up. "I still don't get it," Sirius told them, his black, sculpted eyebrows pulled together.  
"I'm getting to it, hold on. Well, we don't want her with anyone else, right?" Fred asked. "Right," James and George said together, smiling. "Where are you going with this?" "Hold on! Now, she'll have to date another pure-blood because of the community and crap," Fred carried on,"and the only ones left, in your year, that are 'suitable' for her are Malfoy or Blaise," "Now, you're probably heard us say that Malfoy fancies her," George added. "Yeah," "Well, that's our worst nightmare, Malfoy or Blaise," Fred explained. "She hates them both though, right?" James asked, ruffling his hair. "Yeah but from what you know about her and Nick's relationship, imagine if he gave her no choice," George prompted as he ran his fingers through his black, silky hair. "She'd go out with either one of them?" James asked, shock crossing his face. "We don't know and we really don't want to find out," Fred told them, grimacing. "She hates Malfoy though!" James exclaimed, his eyes flaring. "But she'd do anything for Nick, remember?" "I don't like the sound of Nick," James admitted, furrowing his brow. "Can I ask another question?" Sirius asked.  
"Sure,"  
"Does it run in your family to roll your eyes?" Sirius asked, a smile playing on his lips. Fred and George chuckled, their eyes swimming with kindness, no trace of the furious boys earlier. "I think so," Fred replied, smiling,"Lauren's the main one who does it," "Why did she change her name?" Sirius asked curiousity gripping him. "That's two questions," Fred teased, smirking. "Oh, can I ask two questions?"  
"You don't need to ask us," "Oh, thanks. So, why?" Sirius replied, smiling. "She just hated it, ever since she was about five. We thought it was just a phase, the kind that kids go through all the time but she asked to be called 'Lauren' instead and that's what she's been known as ever since," George explained. "Do guys know her real name, don't you?" Fred asked, smirking at them. "We, er, found out," Sirius admitted, smiling. "I'm not going to ask how," George commented, yawning. "Thanks," James said, his hazel eyes flecked with warmth. "Okay, now questions over, we're going to tell you our plan for the operation, dating Lauren and Sirius thingy," Fred told them. "Er, okay?" Sirius asked, fear flitting across his face. "Now, I am very sorry but it's gonna take a long time," "How long?" James asked. "Most of the year," George replied, grimacing. "What?!" James exclaimed. "Shhhh! We know it's a really long time but if Nick hadn't written that stupid letter you could've asked her out tomorrow," Fred explained. "But she doesn't fancy me?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows knitted together. Again, three pairs of eyes fell on him, looking in disbelief. "You're just as oblvious as her," Fred exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "I'm lost?" "Sirius," James started in a delibertly slow voice,"Lauren, got it? Lauren?" "I've got it," he snapped. "Okay, S-H-E F-A-N-C-I-E-S Y-O-U," "No, she doesn't?" "P-A-D-F-O-O-T-"  
"Stop talking like that," Sirius snapped, frowning. "Well stop being an idiot then!" James shot back. "We don't know for sure," Sirius countered, still frowning. "Well, no but-"  
"Exactly," "Well, I'm pretty sure she does," Fred told him although he knew the truth, the truth that his sister did infact fancy Sirius and that's why she wasn't hanging around them much but he couldn't betray Lauren like that, as much as he wanted them to know the truth he couldn't. "Maybe," Sirius replied though he sounded doubtful. "Right, anyway, you should be in bed," George commanded, ushering them up. James and Sirius slowly stood, they ached all over from the constant crouching under the cloak and had no desire to be in that situation again, they picked the cloak up, the silvery material feeling soft and sliky in their hands. "My back's gonna be in excruciating pain tomorrow," Sirius moaned as he crouched down for James to pull the cloak around them.  
"My leg's aren't gonna be much better," James added, as he crouched down, feeling shooting pains in his knees. "Everyone stop whining and go to bed," George said with a wink. "Alright, alright, we're going," James pulled the silvery cloak around them both and they disappeared, pulling out the map from his back pocket, they walked towards the door. "Oh and Sirius!" Fred called just when they were about to leave,"break her heart and I'll break your face," "Fred!" "I'm kidding...slightly..." Fred joked. "Bye!" George called as they watched nothingness pull the dormitory door closed. "I wanted to tell Sirius really badly," Fred sighed when they were gone. "Me too, but he'll discover on his own the feelings Lauren has," George replied. "Yeah, until then we wait,"  
"And lie,"  
"Yup,"

CHAPER 17: DREAMS AND REALITY

Lauren awoke to crimson sunlight pouring down on her features, basking in the warmth, she tried to stay in her dream word for as long as possible, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping. Slowly, she came back to reality, feeling the familiar cosy, prestine duvet wrapped around her body and the cool, smooth pillow supporting her blushed cheek. She still kept her eyes tightly shut, trying to remember every aspect, every tiny detail of her dream, wishing it was her reality, it had been perfect, a perfection that she could never have. Every time she attempted to hold on, her fingers closed around thin air and touched skin, groping at nothingness, perfection, a situation she would never be in, thoughts she could never have, feelings she would never expereince with him but she guessed that's why they called them dreams. This was the second time she'd dreamt about Sirius, his warm hands caressing her blushed face, his mysterious, stromy grey eyes boring into her own, filled with love and awe, his black, floppy hair framing his face, his angular jaw and his chistled features that looked angelic, of course, she could still she these but they weren't filled with the same love, the same longing as in her dream. Feeling the last whispers and moments of her dream fade, she snuggled the douvet closer, trying to return. No use. Sighing, she let the covers fall from her, cold air licked her exposed skin and engulfed her arms and pale face. Her eyes fluttered open and her dormitory she shared with her fellow Slytherin's came into view; it looked exactly the same as usual, socks and various other garments littering the floor, the bed's messed up, emerald cushions thrown on the floor and beds shielded by emerald drapes. Reality dawning on her, she slipped out of bed and walked over to the mirror; her chestnut hair looked flicky as always, and still couldn't decided whether it was wavy or straight, her teal eyes were misty and her skin was really pale. Combing her hair with her fingers, she tried to get it all to flow one way, it felt silky and smooth between her nimble fingers but whatever she did, it just wouldn't go straight. Rolling her eyes at her own reflection, she turned around and saw a pair of warm, chocolate eyes and sparkly, sky eyes watching her, Lauren froze, not sure what to do next. The three girls just stared at each other, no one moved, Rue looked concerned for her best friend and Alex looked a mixture of anger and concern. Lauren opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, just warm breath that tickled her thin lips as it escaped. "Lauren, where have you been?!" Alex asked, her sea eyes alight with fury and concern. Lauren's mind raced, she couldn't tell them about the letter, it would be too difficult and too many questions would be asked. "I've been, er, ill," Lauren lied, fixing her teal eyes on the cream, spongy carpet. "You just disappeared at breakfast yesterday! Then your brother told us you weren't coming to Hosmead," Alex continued, the anger leaving her eyes. "Yeah,er, sorry about that," Lauren apologised. Rue absorbed her words, as though etching them into her brain, her chocolate eyes swelled with tears, she ran and hugged Lauren, knocking her back a few feet. Stumbling, she held onto one of the wooden posters of her bed and hugged back. Rue was every inch of the child she looked at his point, her head was nestled onto Lauren's pajama top, her huge eyes were closed, water leaking through the closed lids occasionally and her hands were clutching Lauren's waiste with a strength she wouldn't have believed possible from the slight girl if she wasn't feeling it. "Rue thought that you were mad at us because of the whole Hogsmead thing," Alex explained when Lauren looked at Rue expectantly.  
"Oh, that," with all the thoughts and feelings of the past days, Lauren had completely forgotten all about that, ammoung her new thoughts and feelings towards Sirius there wasn't much room left in her brain. "To be honest, I completely forgot all about that," Rue looked up, her huge eyes full of tears and her bronze cheeks streaked with water. "Really?" She choked, her voice breaking. "Yeah, I'm not mad at you Rue," Lauren replied, her teal eyes full of warmth and kindness. "See? I told you," Alex commented, smiling at her two friends. "I just, didn't want you to, to be mad," Rue choked through sobbs. "Well, I'm not, I promise. How was Hogsmead anyway?" Lauren asked, smiling. A smile was playing on Rues' plump lips and her eyes twinkled underneath the rising sunlight. "It was good," Rue replied vaguely, casting her eyes around the room as a blush slithered up her cheeks. "Her and Edward were flirting constantly," Alex told her, rolling her eyes, Rues' cheeks grew crimson,"I was left with the other two, Dean and Alex, it was really confusing with two Alex's!" "N'aww, Rue's growing up," Lauren teased,"and anyway, you loved it, Alex," "Shut up," Rue said, holding her redening cheeks with her hands. "They were both pretty attractive," Alex mused, a smirk pulling at her mouth. "Alex, you think most boys are attractive! Why don't you take a leaf out of Rue's book and get into a relationship instead of telling us how hot boys are," Lauren replied, smiling. "It's too much effort," Alex told them, rolling her eyes,"plus they'd want to do romantic things all the time and I need my space,"  
"Alex, don't know if you knew this but relationships mostly consist of romance," Lauren's voice dripping with sarcasm. "Like you're such an expert! All I'm saying is relationships are fine if you're willing to commit but I'm not," "I know I'm not but it's basic knowledge. What, you wanna flirt with boys until your thirty?" "No, of course not but I don't wanna be in a relationship," Alex replied, smiling warmly at her best friends. "Guys, I hate to interupt but I'm starving and if we don't go for breakfast soon, it'll all be gone," Rue injected, her cheeks still red. "Alright, let's go. Get dressed, Lauren," Alex told her. Lauren felt a prang of nervousness, she would have to talk to Sirius and she still hadn't worked out how to act natural.  
"You guys go on, I'm not hungry, I'm not a hundred percent yet," Lauren answered, smiling reassuringly at her friends.  
"You must be ill, you just said you weren't hungry," Alex teased, winking. "Well, if you're sure," "Yeah, you guys go," Lauren told them, smiling warmly. "Okay, get better soon," Rue replied and headed for the door. "See you later," Alex said, following Rue out of the dorm and into the marble corridor. As soon as they had gone, Lauren crawled back into bed and was launched into the world of dreams once again.

The wind whistled through the trees, the grass crunched underfoot with every new step Lauren took, she felt breathless. Her head was pounding against her skull, her fisted hands were sweaty and sore, her stomach was fluttering like a flock of butterfly's and her mouth was dry. Every time she swallowed, the saliva felt like whole food, blocking her breaths and making her feel lightheaded. The grass looked unnaturally green, and was glowing in silver mist by the moonlight that was pouring down onto it. Inhaling and exhaling heavily, she hurried across the Quidditch pitch and walked to their meeting place. Moonlight was bouncing off every surface, refracting new beams everywhere, hitting Lauren in spots all over her body. The stars above looked like diamonds in the darkening sky and the moon shone brightly like a pure silver plate. Forcing herself forward, she felt sweat trickle from her temples into her slightly parted mouth, which made it dryer still, hastily trying to moisten it, she licked her lips and the liquid evaporated as quickly as it had come. Rubbing her lips together, she walked past the stands, that were usually packed with pupils and looked eerie abandoned and draped in silver, which had four coloured banners hanging off of them, emerald, ruby, blue and yellow and towards the changing rooms, where all the players gathered before a match. Seeing the pitch like this was scary; it was usually alive with cheers and the buzz of hundreds of conversations, it was usually compacted tightly, sometimes you couldn't move, and players were normally soaring above your head, spured on by the cheers and whistles of their house. Silence. With only the sound of rustling leaves and the gusts of the gentil, summers breeze to accompany her, she walked over to the wooden broomstick shed, rubbing her arms that were crawling with goosebumps. The wind hit again, more forceful this time, her teeth threatening to chatter and the frosty wind biting and nipping at her face and exposed skin, licking her and engulfing her in tongues of ice. "Bit cold there?" Came a familiar, cocky voice. Spinning around, she saw a pair of breath taking misty eyes watching her with concern and warmth, his thin lips pulled into a smile. "Just a bit," Lauren replied, smiling, her teal eyes lighting up at the sight of the person she loved. Sirius smiled in return and strode over to her from the place he was lurking, his floppy, black hair blowing in the increasingly icy wind. "I guess I could've picked somewhere warmer," He breathed, mere inches from his face. His features looked even more impressive and almost angelic in the draping moonlight, his eyes appeared even more mysterious and his hair shone navy-blue in the natural light. Staring up at him, as she always had to do since he was at least seven inches taller than her, she saw every crease and crevice that his smile caused illuminated by silver light, almost making him glow. "Yeah, you could've," Lauren told him, staring into his eyes, stormy grey into twinkling blue. "There your eyes go again," Sirius breathed, caressing her cheek, which was slowly turning crimson. "Stop making me blush," she whispered, examining every detail of his chistled face. "You look cute when you blush," Sirius had stepped even closer, making her cheeks glow crimson, which was exactly what he wanted to do, and twirled a strand of tawny hair around his finger smiling at his idea of perfection. "Stop it," Lauren commanded, trying to dip her sculpted eyebrows into a frown. Sirius could always make her blush, he may have thought it was cute but Lauren didn't, she hated how easily her cheeks would turn crimson, Sirius hardly ever blushed, his cheeks pale and perfect. "But then you would stop blushing," he teased, tucking a few strands of chestnut hair,that had fallen out, back behind her ear again and running his fingers though the soft, silky locks. "Exactly, I hate how I blush so easily," Lauren admitted, looking straight up into his misty eyes that appeared to glow silver in the vast darkness. "Well, I love it," Sirius breathed, tickling her face with his warm, scented breath. Their noses were nearly touching, they had inched forward since the beginning of their coversation and weren't even an inch apart, but Lauren was staring up because of the height difference, so they weren't on eye level. "Well, It's my cheeks not yours," Lauren replied, holding them with her numb, freezing hands, the contrast was huge for only one person to be feeling. Sirius stroked her cheek, his fingers feeling soft against her skin that was engulfed in tongues of fire and ice. "You know what I think anyway," Sirius replied, he had frequently told her how perfect he thought she was as it was one thing he'd promised himself he would do just before he admitted his feelings for her, and it was true; to him, she was perfect, she was the prettiest, she was the kindest, everything about her, even her bad traites, seemed faultless to him. Lauren often compained about her flicky hair that wasn't curly or wavy but Sirius thought it looked pretty the way it seemed to entertwine itself around the other strands, her eyes were breathtaking, how they twinkled under any light and shone like diamonds, their gaze piercing. "Yeah," she breathed, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes twinkling again capturing his gaze. "Let me guess, my eyes are doing it again?" Lauren asked in a bored voice. "A little, yeah," Sirius replied, his misty eyes tracing the features, every crevice, darting from one freckle to another, falling onto her cold, frozen lips and back into her teal eyes again. "I wish they'd stop," Lauren admitted, tilting her head down and dropping her gaze to the crunchy, green grass under their feet. "I don't," Sirius replied, brushing her chin, making the skin tingle, and gently pushing her head back up, so his eyes met hers. "Yeah but you always like eveything about me," Lauren complained, rolling her eyes but smiling at him as well. "Because you're perfect," Sirius replied, shrugging, his stromy eyes hitting the light and forming a layer of mist between his pupil and eyelid. "I'm really not, you know," Lauren told him, her chestnut hair falling like a sheet of slik behind her back. "You are to me," Sirius breathed, edging closer. Lauren felt a pair of gentle, heated lips fall upon hers and she got the feeling like posion was coursing through her vains, but it didn't hurt or cause pain, it felt good, their lips moved together, mimicking each others actions. Her arms automatically slid up his sides and curled around his neck, joining at the back, while his arms settle on her hip bones and interlaced at the base of her spine, she had to stand on the tips of her feet to reach his face, her toes were objecting all the while but she neglected their pain and stayed locked together with Sirius. He'd crouched the best he could without pains shooting his neck and spine but he was still too tall, his 6"3 frame was huge compared to Lauren's small, in comparison, 5"7 frame, which meant she barely reched his chin. His hair was tickling her fingers and their lips were locked together, as though glued, her feet complaining, she beagan to, slowly and grudgingly, pull away from the comfort and warmth of his lips and arms, she was egding away, every second the pain growing until her feet were flat on the ground again and she was back to staring up into his mysterious eyes. "Why do you have to be so tall?" Lauren asked, pouting her lower lip. Sirius smirked and poked her pretruding lip, his eyes gliding over her misted features. "It's not my fault you're short," he replied, his eyes glazing over and looking like black glass. "Hey! I am not that short," Lauren defended, narrowing her perfectly plucked eyebrows at him. "But you are," Sirius told her, winking, a smirk pulling at one side of his lips. "Fine," Lauren replied, poking her tongue out and spinning around, her hair flying out behind her. She set her gaze on the abandoned stands, listening for the sound of his footsteps on the crunchy grass, and when silence greeted her, she wondered where he had gone. Sneaking a peak out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't see his tall frame, angular jaw or misty eyes. Lauren was about to turn around when a voice stopped her. "I was kidding, you're not short," his warm breath tickled her frozen ear,"you're perfect," "I thought we'd been over this, I'm not," Lauren commented, not turning to face him. "You are," Lauren had turned around and was about to open her mouth to argue when a pair of lips touched hers and the feeling of posion twisiting and rushing through her vains was back, combined with her blood, reaching to every part of her frozen body. She'd been so busy kissing him, Lauren hadn't noticed that her toes weren't complaining anymore, her feet were pressed flat on the floor, as her lips moved with his, she noticed he was crouching right down and grimaced as she thought of the pain that would be reaching his back. "Is your back okay?" She breathed when they'd parted for air, still only centimeters apart. "It's worth it," Sirius replied, breathing heavily and staring straight into her eyes. "But if I wasn't so short-" "Will you stop with that? You're perfect, end of," Sirius interupted, leaning closer as every word escaped his mouth. "But-" Lauren was cut off by moist, warm lips crashing down on hers and making her brain scramble and turn to mush, any thoughts about her height were gone and her brain tuned out as she was locked together with Sirius for the third time. Sirius couldn't bare to hear her put herself down, he had only one thought as their lips moved in sequence; Lauren was perfect.

Lauren sat bolt up-right in her wooden bed, the emerald drapes had been pulled around her and crimson light was pouring through her window once again. Her dream replayed in her mind like she was watching a movie, his tickling breath, his moist, warm lips, his light, delicated touch, the blood rushing to her cheeks, it had all felt so real. Disappiontment washed over her as she look in the world around her with her teal, twinkly eyes, the dorm was messy, socks, shirts and ties littered the cream carpet, books, in Lauren and Rue's cases, were pilled high on the wooden bed-side table baring gold and silver lettering, perstine, white douvets were dumped on the floor and silky, emerald cushions were thrown around the room. Reality seemed so flawed, so imperfect, her dream had been everything she wanted, she wanted Sirius to look at ger the way he had, like she was everything to him, like she was perfect, she wanted to feel his warm lips upon her own and for him to constantly tell her that she was perfect to him, but dreams are dreams and everybody has to wake up at one point. Rubbing her eyes, she slid out from underneath the cosy, protective covers and sat crossed-legged on her four poster bed. She grabbed her wand, held it up just in front of her and muttered the words to a time spell, the numbers 5:30 appeared in thin air in acidic green, jagged writing, countering the spell, the green writing faded away and plunged her into the crimson light again. The cold air of the dorm nipped and bit at her pale arms, they encirlced her blushed cheeks, they were blushed from the dream, the only bit that was real, and they became a strange mixture of warm and cold, tingling as the air plunged her cheeks down to freezing. Word's couldn't explain how much she wanted the dreams she'd had recently to be reality, for this to be the dream, for Sirius to love her, for him to look at her with his stromy eyes full of awe and loving for her, for him to kiss her with his warm, soft lips, for him to caress her cheek the way he had, but that was the dream, nothing could change that and she'd have to stop having these dreams. 'He doesn't love me back, I need to get over him, he means nothing,' Lauren mummered under her breath, repeating again and again, not wanting to believe herself, carving the words, pretending that she didn't care, telling herself she didn't. But she did. No matter how many times she lied to herslef, told herself she ddin't, there was always a little voice in her head whispering that she did, she knew she did and she couldn't bury the truth deep enough for it to be undiscovered. Running her fingers through her soft, chestnut hair, she remembered that tomorrow she'd have to face everyone, face Sirius pretend that she thought of him as nothing more than a friend, that his smirk didn't make her stomach flutter, that his misty eyes weren't mesmerizing, and dread flooded through her. Massaging her temples, she glided open the drapes, swumg her legs over the side and climbed out of bed, her arms prickling with goosebumps as she crossed the room. Pulling on skinny jeans, another Qudditch top, that had been from the word cup, and her grey boots, she left the dormitory and walked into the common room. it looked the same as always, dark, dingy and not very inviting, she climbed out of the portraite hole and stopped abruptly. She didn't want to run into any of the marauders, or any of her friends for that matter, quickly, she walked towards the astronomy tower that she knew would be deserted.

She asended the spiralling stone staircase, just like in her dream but she didn't feel her stomach fluttering or pains in her chest, she felt perfectly calm and serine. Her legs aching, she continued to climb up, her dream running through her mind as she did, like a film. Clasping the cold, brass handle, a gust of freezing, summer air greeted her, no stormy eyes, no Sirius, just the bitter cold and the starry sky. Crossing the tower, she sat down on the equally cold, concrete floor and turned her teal eyes to the contallations above. The sky was completely clear, completely black with twinlking gems interupting the darkness, the moon shone like a polished, silver dish and draped the tower in a silver mist, hugging her legs close to her chest, she felt all the feelings she'd felt over the weekend run through her, thoughts about Sirius twirled and danced around her mind. A strong gust of freezing wind twirled around her, tongues of ice sweeping over her, her chestnut hair flying out behind her like a flag made of slik. Hugging her legs tighter, she continued to gaze at the shining gems above her head, letting her thoughts wonder, the silouhetted shadows taunting and tempting, pulling her in, the light from the stars was almost glowing, like silver flames. Her teeth began to chatter, complaining about the cold that was coursing through her body, touching the tips of her fingers to the bottom of her spine, she couldn't feel her hands anymore and the skin tingled as she moved them, her cheeks felt like blocks of ice and her skin was as pale as paper. These thoughts and feelings never reached her brain, it was too full with new thoughts and feelings towards her best friend that she'd never knew she'd felt, how long had she fancied Sirius? and why did some letter alert her? Questions buzzed around her mind, rhetorical questions and even if they had an answer, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Clamping her eyes shut, the sceenes from her dreams whirled in front of her pink lids, consuming her completely, this was the middle between dreams and reality, she was absorbed in her thoughts, not quite dreaming because she was awake but not quite in reality as the astronomy tower seemed to fade and a world made of purely her thoughts took over. She could feel the silver, misty moonlight draping her face, making her appear to glow but she didn't want to open her eyes, if she did, she would be sucked back into reality, a place she didn't particulary want to be in at the moment, the wind increased, nipping at her exposed face and pulling her in deeper into it's surronding icyness, bluring the lines between what was real and what was fake. Rubbing her hands together, she breathed out, breath that tickled her lips as it passed and turned into mist as soon as it hit the numbing air, her legs were digging into her chest that had begun to ache and her ribs felt like they were being squeezed but the cold was threatning to consume her in it's cutting shield, her temples started to pound against her skull and her breaths were making sharp pains stab her chest, her breaths were uneven, either too long or too shallow. A excruicating pain hit her stinging forehead and her eyes flew open, massaging where it had hit, she gazed up to the silver stars and her teal eyes glazed over looking like blue glass. How was she going to act like everything was normal? These things she was feeling, they were new, and as cliche as it sounded, she hadn't expereinced anything like this before. Sighing, she held her head in her hands, massaged her temples and was shaking her head slightly, she had to pretend like everything was normal, she had to hide the feelings, however strong, she couldn't let anyone one find out. The icy wind hit again, numbing her whole face and turning her skin ghostly white, her chestnut hair was tickling her face, gritting her teeth against the frozen flames that were dancing around her, she hugged her arms as tight as she could around her frozen body and began rubbing them frantically. Ignoring her bodys complaints about the chilling cold, she got lost in her thoughts again, how do you act natural? Searching every coner of her brain for the answer, she came up with nothing, she just had to make sure she didn't laugh too much, smile too much or be too kind, it couldn't be that hard, right? Grimacing at what she had to go, she pulled out her wand from her sock and cast the time spell again. The numbers 7:40 appeared in the darkness in the same acidic green, ghoolish writing as before, waving her wand, they disappeared and she was left looking at the bright stars in the sky that stretched right out, as far as the eye could see and the only break was when it kissed the jade grass at the horizon. With growls from her stomach, she crossed back over the astronomy tower and headed back down the stone staircase, still not a hundred percent on how to act normal.

The warmth of the entrance hall flooded over her icy body and absorbed her in tongues of fire, warming her from her insides to her toes. Quickly, she crossed the gleeming, marble floor and was about to walk down the dungeon steps when a voice stopped her dead in her tracks. "Lauren!" She spun around, her tawny hair flying out behind her, her teal eyes huge and questioning. A short girl with black, curly hair and huge, chocolate eyes was standing by the entrance to the great hall. "Rue, what's up?" Lauren asked, trying to sound casual and warmth seeped through to her bones. "You coming for dinner?" Rue replied, opening her huge eyes wider in question. "Er," Lauren didn't know whether she could face Sirius, would she act the same, she guessed it was better to find out now rather than later,"sure, I wasn't planning to but I guess I will," Lauren told her, smiling warmly as Rue's massive eyes swelled with happiness. "Well, do you wanna go then?" Rue asked, smiling. The truthful answer would've been no, Lauren wanted to run, get as far away as she could from his stormy eyes that enticed her. "Yeah," She replied, still smiling but more forcefully this time. After forcing her legs to move, she walked to where Rue was standing, just outside the wooden doors, and took a deep breath. Steading herself, she entered the hall, after Rue, which looked like always, the four tables draped in the house colours, the enchanted candles that gave the room an eerie, yellow glow and the ceiling was dotted with small, fluffy clouds, dimed, golden light and swirls of summer, bitter wind. Smiling warmly at Cho, who had waved at her from the Ravenclaw table, she glided over to the table wrapped in silky, emerald material and look her seat between Alex and Regulus Black. The foods warm scent filled her nostrils, the many dishes were laid out on golden plates that gleemed under the artifical light, the steam was rising off them like smoke off of a burning fire, they looked fluffy and light, they looked mouth-watering and Lauren immediatly began spooning foods that she didn't even recognise on her plate, from a substance that looked like mash potato but was sprinkled with green and red flecks, to a massive helping of vegetable mousaka that ploped down onto her plate, spraying liquid over the emerald table cloth. Picking up the golden cutlery, she dug in, the foods burning her throat as they slid down but tasting delicious just the same, the potato-like substance had herbs and spices in that danced on her tongue and burnt the roof of her mouth as she wolfed that down too. The roof of her mouth and the back of her throat were burnt from the scalding foods but her stomach felt full for once in three days and it had stopped rumbling as soon as the first tantalising mouthful of potato had touched her pale lips and had slithered down her throat, leaving a spicy taste in her mouth. Picking up the golden, encrusted goblet, she gulped down the nourishing, pumpkin juice that slipped down her burnt throat with ease and soothed it. "Hey, Lauren," Regulus greeted when he'd finished eating as well, his stormy eyes misting and making her stomach prang. "Hey, how are you?" Lauren asked, trying to concentrate on the conversation instead of his eyes which reminded her a lot of Sirius'. "Eh, been better. Where were you all of saturday?" He replied, taking a swig from his gold goblet. "Oh, I was ill, I didn't mean to seal myself off but I felt really bad," Lauren lied, her hands dancing uncomfortably underneath the wooden table. "I hope you're better now," Regulus told her, smiling warmly. "I am thanks, feeling better and ready to go to school tomorrow," she told him, smiling back, her teal eyes twinkling. "Why is it always school with you?" he asked. "It's important! I hope I have good lessons though, don't want to be stuck in broomstick lessons in this weather!" Lauren complained, rolling her eyes. "Same but I think we have Quidditch pratice, you know, I'm sure we could use a beater like you..." he prompted, raising his eyebrows. "I'm sure you could but I've told you before, I'm not playing," Lauren answered, her brow dipping slightly. "Why not? With you we could win the cup," Regulus told her, smiling at his friend. "No, I'm not gonna play. Plus, I'd be playing against two of my friends and I don't feel comfortable hitting bludgers at their heads," Lauren admitted, her eyebrows furrowing even more. "Fine," he sighed,"you need to stop doing that," "What?" Lauren asked, feeling confused. "Frowning and rolling your eyes, which seems to have become a regular thing," He told her, a smile playing on his lips. Lauren rolled her eyes dramtically, moving her head slightly as well for emphasis, and frowned afterwards, her lips pulling into a smile. "Fine but when you get frown lines, don't complain to me," Lauren rubbed her forehead, checking for lines, while Regulus watched her asmused. "Nope, no lines," Lauren told him, beaming. "I meant when you were older, of course you wouldn't have lines now, you're only young," Regulus stated like it was obvious. "You can't say I'm only young, you're younger!" Lauren exclaimed. "Ah, but I'm taller," "What? That has nothing to do with it!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes playfully. "Ah, wrong again. Say you were in a fight with someone, age would have no baring on the outcome. For example, if we were going to have a fight, I'd win because I'm taller and age has nothing to do with it," he explained, smirking at his 'genuis'. "No, you'd win because I'm a girl and you're a boy, you're far stronger than me, you could punch harder and you're scary," Lauren countered. "Okay, that was a bad example, me and Malfoy, I'd win," "You sure? I heard Malfoy's pretty strong and he got into a fight with that fifth year last year, remember?" Lauren asked. "Oh yeah, that was scary. Okay, not you, not Malfoy, erm, Blaise? Yeah, Blaise," Regulus replied, smiling. "Hmm, if you say so," Lauren told him, smirking. Just then a 'pop' announced that the puddings had arrived, from chocolate cake to bread and butter pudding, she helped herself to a mouth-watering cheesecake while Regulus opted for apple crumble. Tucking into their puddings, they continued their conversation about who Regulus would win in a fight against, going through everyone in their year. Afterwards the puddings disappeared leaving spotless gold plates, goblets and cutlery and a unstained, emerald cloth. "Lauren, let's go," Alex suggested, shooting daggers at Regulus, neither Alex or Rue had forgiven him for what he had called Lauren and they didn't like him much before that. "Oh, er, okay," Lauren replied, standing up and climbing over the wooden bench. They were just about to set off towards the wooden, tall doors when a voice stopped them dead. "I see you're back," A voice dripping in malice and hatred for Lauren, turning around, she came face to face with Pansy, scowling at Malfoy and Blaise who were standing by her side. "What do you want, Pansy?" Lauren asked in an icy voice, as cold as the wind outside. "Nothing. It's just everyone was so worried about the golden girl," she rolled her eyes making Malfoy and Blaise chuckled,"I wanted to see what the big fuss what about, I mean you're not dying and it's only you," she spit the word 'you' out like posion had touched her tongue. "Thanks for your concern," Lauren scowled at her, sarcasm dripping from her voice,"but I'm fine," "Hmm, went for a whole day, wonder where," Pansy mused, her eyes turning acidic green. "If it was any of your business, which it's not, I was ill," Lauren snapped, grimacing at her and the two boys at her sides. "Oh, that's a shame," Pansy replied, sarcastically,"a whole day without little miss perfect, how torturous," Malfoy and Blaise laughed again, short, sharp, cruel laughs. "Well, I mean a whole day without having to watch you flirt with every boy in sight was a nice break," Lauren sniped back, Rue and Alex laughed, infuraiting Pansy even more. "I can't wait for class tomorrow, we have History of Magic with the Gryffindor's right?" Pansy teased, Lauren knew at once what she meant, the jibes and insults were going to be extra bad tomorrow since Sirius was with her. "Why are you excited for class?" Lauren asked, playing along with the facade. "I don't know, there's just something interesting about history, I mean all the couples," she replied, her eyes flecked with evil, that was the second hint, in case Lauren hadn't recieved the first. "What do you mean couples? We learn about goblin wars," Alex asked, her eyebrows pulled into a frown. Pansy simply smirked in response and turned her evil glare back to Lauren. "Wow, you're braincell must get really lonely all by itself," Lauren snapped, making her friends snigger, she knew she was going to pay for that tomorrow. "Well, I guess we can't all be perfect," Pansy sniped, the acidic green brightening. "Especially you," Lauren snapped, she hadn't realised the words had escaped her mouth until she saw hatred flash across their faces. "You'll pay for that," Pansy replied, her eyes brightening even more, she stepped towards Lauren,"see you in class, should be fun," Pansy breathed, smirked and stormed off. "C'mon, we should get back to the dormitory before she does," Rue suggested, pulling Lauren and Alex by their slieves. They hurried out of the hall, Lauren smiled goodbye to Cho, into the gleeming entrance hall, down into the freezing dungeons and to the Slytherin common room.

CHAPTER 18: SOMETHING WRONG?

Dodging the whispering groups, kissing couples and students who were doing homework that was due in tomorrow, they crossed the candle lit room, passed the roaring fire that was spitting embers over the students sitting too close, and up the marble stairs leading to the girls dorms. They silently walked up the marble corridor with seven, wooden doors containg a brass plaque that stated what year the dorm was for and what house they were in. Reaching the oak door that had 'Slytherin 4th Years' plastered on a strip of brass metal, they grabbed the cold, metal handle and flicked. The dormitory floor was littered with socks, school ties, odd gloves and the occasional scarf, emerald pillows had been chucked randomly, the beds were unmade and messy and prestine, white douvets laid heaped. Crossing the room, avioding the various obsticles on the floor, they walked over to their beds and pulled out their school things. Lauren fetched her material, green bag from underneath her bed, pulled her timetable out and lingered her teal eyes over the lessons they had tomorrow. "Urgh, Pansy wasn't lying, we have double History of Magic, double Herbology and double DADA," Lauren groaned, looking at her timetable with disgust. "All doubles?" Alex asked, getting her own timetable from her bedside table. "That's not a bad day," Rue reasoned, her huge eyes warm and friendly. "No but did you hear Pansy? She's gonna make my life hell in History of Magic," Lauren complained, rolling her eyes. "Oh, is that what she meant by couples?" Alex asked, finally catching on. "I'm so glad you've caught up, Alex," Lauren replied, her voice sarcastic and oddly curt. "Hey, just because Parkinson's gonna make your life hell, don't take it out on me," Alex told her friend, hurt crossing her face. "Sorry," Lauren sighed, massaging her temples,"it's just really embarassing," Lauren complained, grimacing.  
"Yeah, Lauren we were going to ask you about that," Rue started, her hands twisting around each other. "About what?" Lauren asked, shoving a brown, leather book with silver writing, a yellow book with black writing and a indigo, velvet book with emerald writing into her bag. "About Sirius," Lauren looked up from where she was pushing creamy parchment, an eagle feather quill and two clear, glass pots with black liquid swishing around in them, into her bag. "What about him?" Lauren tried to keep her voice casual and say it in an almost a bored voice. "Well, you would tell us, you know, if you fancied him, wouldn't you?" Rue stuttered, worry in her huge eyes. "For merlin's sake, guys! How many times?! Maybe if I announced it to the whole school then the message might sink in, I don't fancy him, we're only best friends," Lauren lied, she'd surprised herself how decent she was at acting, the lies rolled off her tongue fluently. She continued shoving creamy-brown sheets of parchment into her bag with her eagle quill, books, ink wells, her timetable and her reading book, a muggle romance novel that Lily had lent her. "We were only checking because, well, we think, I mean we're not sure, but we think that he might, he might fancy you," Rue stammered, her chocolate eyes glued to every movement Lauren made. "Okay, seriously? First I've got to put up with Pansy and now you guys? He doesn't fancy me and I don't fancy him, we're just good friends, end of story," Lauren felt bad lying to her friends but the truth was far too difficult and complicated, it was all such a mess at the moment. "Oh, okay," Alex replied, a smile creeping on her face,"Well, in that case, the Ravenclaw boy fancies you, you know, Edwards friend? He think's your pretty and Edward told us he desperatly wants you to come to Hogsmead with us," Lauren nearly dropped her school bag, she was halfway through putting it back on the floor when Alex had spoken. Placing it by her bed-side table, she smoothed her face out of the scowl it was contorted into and turned to fully face her friends. "Just because I don't fancy anyone, doesn't mean I want a boyfriend," Lauren told them, the lies were getting harder to tell, it felt like every time she spoke them a piece of whole food was trying to climb back up her throat. "But Rue has a boyfriend, I'm debating whether to date Dean and that means you'll be the only one left without somebody," Alex said, her sky eyes wide. "I'm not getting a boyfriend simply because you guys have ones," "Well, Alex doesn't have a boyfriend yet but Dean really likes her," Rue explained, smiling warmly. "No offence Rue but I don't want to date a Ravenclaw," Lauren admitted, shrugging her shoulders and sitting on her bed. "Why not?" Alex cut in before Rue could reply. Lauren racked her brain, it had sort of escaped, she hadn't meant to put it like that, the only reason she'd said it was because of Sirius being in Gryffindor. Aware of two gazes falling on her, huge, chocolate and sky blue, she preassured herself to think. "Because, if I do get a boyfriend, I wanna be smarter than him," Lauren lied, her face pulled into a smile as she leant against one of the wooden posters of her bed. "I don't think Alex is that smart," Rue mused, her brown eyes glazing over in thought. "He has to be, he's in Ravenclaw," Lauren countered, drawing back the emerald drapes from her bed. "That's like saying all Slytherin's are evil!" Alex exclaimed. "I suppose but he's probably still pretty smart," "Yes, he's smart and attractive," Alex prompted, a smirk playing on her lips. "Great, you date him then," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes and gagging. "One, I really like Dean and two, you should get to know him better," Alex suggested, smiling. "Yeah, I bet you'd have loads in common," Rue added, mimicking Alex's smile. "You guys could compare test results," Alex joked and smirked at Lauren. "Okay, guys, I'm gonna make this pretty simple for you, I-don't-want-a-boyfriend," Lauren spoke slowly and patronisingly. "But he really likes you!" "He doesn't know me!" "Alex, she has a point, which is why we're sharing a table with them in Herbology," Rue injected, bracing herself for Lauren's reaction.  
"No! I don't want to share a table with three smart guys!" Lauren whined, rolling her eyes. "I've already said we will!" Rue complained, her huge eyes wide. "I'd rather sit with Pansy!" Lauen shot back, her teal eyes flecked with anger. "Really?" Alex challenged, her perfect eyebrows raised. "Well, no, but it's close!"  
"Look, it's just a double lesson, I'm not asking you to flirt with him, just talk and at least be friends," Rue pleaded, her chocolate eyes swimming with sadness. "I'll talk to him, maybe," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes at their expressions,"well, it's the best you're going to get, take it or leave it," "Fine, I suppose it's better than nothing," Rue sighed.  
"We should probably get to bed before the mean girls return," Alex suggested. "Good idea," Lauren told her, pulling her pajamas from underneath her pillow. Slipping the sliky clothes on, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and combed her hair, which was pretty pointless, and slid into bed. The dormitory door swung open and two figures came striding in, one with emerald eyes, the other with sky blue, they crossed the room, without looking at Lauren, Rue or Alex and walked over to their beds. Their side of the room erupted in hisses an whispers, frantically trying to listen, Lauren slid under her covers and Rue and Alex did the same. She only caught odd words, 'blood-tratior', 'unbelieveable' and 'hate', deciding she didn't care, Lauren rested her cheek against the cool, soft pillow and fell asleep almost imstantly.

CHAPTER 19: A STORMY DAY

Lauren woke to hear rain pelting their window, electric blue strikes lighting the sky and the low grumble of thunder, the patter of rain was rhythmic on the emerald window. Groggily, Lauren fluttered her eyes open, that were still misted with sleep, and turned them towards the rest of her dorm, the storm had woken everyone up and she was the last one. It was impossible to tell what the time was, there was no sunlight to tell from, either golden or crimson, no sky, blue or tinted with red and no clouds, the sky was simply grey, a vast darkness that spread across as far as the eye could see until it met the jade grass that seemed to mirror the bad weather. The only thing that improved the greyness was the occasional lightening strike that would turn the whole sky electric blue and vanish just as soon as it had appeared. Deciding she wasn't going to get anymore sleep, Lauren drew back the emerald drape, slid her legs around and hung them off the side of her bed. After performing the time charm, Lauren discovered it was only five, she wouldn't have to be awake for another hour at least, but no one could sleep, the rain sounded like someone was chucking rocks at their window, the thunder sounded like a giants stomach rumbling and the lightening strikes looked like blue explosions. Rue and Alex were sitting up on their beds too, Rue was reading a indigo, velvet Herbology book with emerald writing, Alex was just staring out of the window, a gloomy look plastered on her face, Pansy and Annabeth were whispering frantically, no change there, and Lauren was half sitting, half standing on her edge of her bed, casting her teal eyes around the dormitory. Dread washed over her as she remembered that they had History of Magic first, Pansy had promised to make her life hell and she sat next to Sirius, which didn't help matters in the slightest, grimacing, she tried to focus on other things. The weather was changing, that meant that winter was fast approaching and Christmas was only a couple of months away. Suddenly, she remembered what the letter from Nick had said, to write back and she would be leaving here for christmas in a few months, what would she say? Would it be best to lie to him? Figuring she had at least half an hour until she would have to get dressed and ready for school, she pulled a piece of creamy-brown parchment out of her bag, her eagle quill and the glass pot containing the swishing black liquid. Smoothing it out on her bed-side table, she dipped the point of the quill into the ink and hovered it above the paper, thinking.

Dear Nick, My first week went well, we didn't really do much in the lessons, we're growing gillyweed in Herbology, I've mastered the accio charm in charms and I've mastered the stuplify spell in DADA. George and Fred are as well behaved as possible for them, I think they've only recieved three detentions so far! That's good considering there was that first week when they got eight detentions, and four of them were from their diviniation teacher. I haven't had any, as per usual, and I've met Professor Silas, he mentioned you and he seems very pleasant, I still can't believe he's teaching at only twenty-one! I don't know what the weathers like in London, but I'm writing this at about quarter past five on monday morning, there's a storm outside, thunder, lightening, rain, the lot. Also, I have Herbology later, so if I come home with pneumonia don't be surprised. You can tell summers fading, Autumn will be here soon, the weathers getting colder and the trees in the forbidden forest's leaves are turning brown and yellow. Christmas seems ages away, I think it's about three months but I know the time will pass quickly, I'll be back home in no time and we'll be celebrating. Well, I've got to get dressed and ready for school now, it's about half five and I know that no one could possible sleep in this weather. Hopefully see you soon, tell mum, dad, Charlie, Matt and Finnick that I hope they're well and I hope you're well too, love you all, I'll see you at Christmas.  
Love Lauren

She read and re-read her letter, she hadn't said anything about Sirius, out of hope, hope that he would've forgotten all about that, that after Christmas she would come back and be allowed to date him, they could be together without any problems, 'except one, he doesn't like you back' a voice hissed in her head. Pushing that last thought away, she folded up the parchment into quaters and placed it on her bed-side table, she would go down to the owlery and send it later. Shoving her quill and ink well back into her school bag, she stood up and pulled her school uniform from her wooden chest of draws and slipped her black skirt, tights, shirt, tie and jumper on silently, Rue and Alex were doing the same, having dragged themselves out of bed and Lauren didn't care what her other roomates were doing, well, 'roomates' being a term, she tried to refrain from looking at that side of the room as much as possible. Yawning, she then brushed her teeth, washed her face, where more spots were appearing and she was becoming paler as summer faded, and let Pansy and Annabeth into the bathroom after they'd hammered on the door for about five minutes. Striding past them, a smille playing on her lips, she walked to the mirror and the sight that greeted her made her roll her eyes, she wasn't sure who she was doing it to, her hair or her parents, everything would be simpler if she had her dad's black, silky hair that never had a strand out of place, picked up her hairbrush and desperatly tried to tame her flicky hair. Realising it was futile, she scraped her chestnut hair back and formed a bun at her base of her neck but slightly to the left, her middle parting hung, framing her face. Deciding she couldn't work with those strands hanging, she platted her fringe and clipped it at the left side of her head. Lauren compliented herself internally for being able to do something girly, even if it was something as simple as a bun, and walked back over to her bed. Stuffing her wand into her sock, this was the best place for it considering that she lost basically everything, and retrieved her school bag from the bed-side table. The storm hadn't let up, the rain was still pelting the emerald stain-glass window, electric blue was still flashing in contrast to her grey sky and the low rumble of thunder was getting more frequent. Sighing, she crammed the brown rough envelope, with her letter to Nick inside, into her pocket and picked up her robe from the bed, where it was sprawlled, it wasn't complusory to wear them but on days like this, it'd be stupid not to. She thrust the black, inky robe with a snake, emerald emblem, into her green, material bag for Herbology, since that was the only lesson she'd have to go outside for and turned around to her friends who were packing their own bags with books, their quill, ink pots and parchment. "Ready?" Lauren asked, her fair, arched eyebrows raised. "Yeah, one second," Rue replied, slotting the velvet Herbology book into her brown, leather bag, unlike everything else that she'd shoved in. Alex had finished packing her leather bag, when she looked, her blond ringlets falling across her shoulder. "Lauren, did you do your hair?" Alex asked. "Yeah, why?" she responded, touching the chestnut silk selfconsiously. "It looks really nice, I didn't think you could do anything girly," Alex answered, her facing breaking into a smile. "Oh, my mum taught me how to do this, we had to go for this fancy meal and my hair was flicking everywhere," Lauren rolled her eyes,"this was the only thing I could master, she tried french plaits but they were limp and messy," "Actually, it does look really nice," Rue injected, glancing her huge, brown eyes up from her packed bag. "It's a bit fancy for school but this is the only thing I can do," Lauren shrugged, making sure she'd got every thing she needed. "No, it looks nice," Alex told her friend, smiling. "Anyway, let's go, I'm starving here!" Lauren exclaimed, rubbing her stomach. "Well, the old Lauren's back," Rue joked, smiling at her. "I'm not kidding! There's no time for jokes, let's go!" Lauren commanded, slinging her material bag over her shoulder. "Have you guys got your robes?" Rue asked. "Yeah, It'd be stupid not to, we've got Herbology and we have to cross the grounds," Alex complained, glancing to their window where the rain was still pouring against the fragile frame. "Exactly, I've shoved mine in my bag for later," Lauren added, grabbing the cool, brass handle and flicking.

The corridor felt colder than ever, a gloominess had covered the whole of the castle, they walked down into the common room that looked more like a grave yard than a room, the blaring candles and roaring fire gave the room an eerie yellow glow that looked like someone was shining a lamp onto it, they walked quickly, tongues of frozen flames licking their arms as they ventured through and into the dungeons. It felt like they'd been plunged into artic water, goosebumps covered all of their arms, the cold was nipping and biting at their exposed faces and Lauren's teeth began to chatter, sounding like continuous hammering, they sped up, eager to escape the surronding frost that was pulling them in. Even the entrance hall had managed to loose some of it's impressiveness due to the weather, the pink marble still gleemed but it was a dull, unimpressive gleem that had lost tons of it's usual impact. They arrived at the great hall, happy to see that the gloom hadn't spread over it as well, the candles still burned brightly, the table colours still shone beneath the eerie, yellow glow, the ceiling looked even more impressive than normal, turning electric blue when lightening struck, the thunder rumble only adding to the buzz of the atmosphere and the stormy wind swirling and whistling around, spiralling and twisting around the tinged clouds and rain pellets, which sounded like kettle drums being played, a soothing sound compared to what it was like in the dormitory. Slotting into her place between Alex and Regulus, the sweet secent of fresh food filled her nose, making her stomach rumble even more, even the smell of the black pudding was appealing, which Lauren wouldn't touch if someone paid her, let alone eat it. Picking up her gold plate, that failed to shine since there was no sunlight draping the hall, she spooned fluffy eggs, smooth beans and four steaming, golden hashbrowns onto it. Picking up her cutlery, that looked incredibly dull, she started wolfing down the delicious foods, the fluffy eggs danced on her tongue, filling her whole mouth with their flavour, then sliding down her throat, burning but tasting divine all the same, the beans glided down too, still burning but filling her throat with their flavour, the hashbrowns felt light and fluffy on her tongue, wolfing them down with the rest of her breakfast. Without even taking a breath, she glasped the engraved, goblet,that emited a dull shine in this weather, and gulped down the contence, the smooth, refreshing pumpkin juice soothed her burnt throat and mouth as it followed the food and slithered down. She felt a pair of eyes watching her, tilting her head to her left she saw Regulus watching her, his stormy eyes wide, amusment flittering across them. "It still amazes me how much you can eat," he commented, noticing her looking at him. Lauren laughed, making her teal eyes twinkle, even though it was a dull sky, and new crevices appear on her pale face. "Blame my brother Charlie, it's his fault, I have his stomach," Lauren shrugged, smiling. "I guess that makes two of us," Regulus replied, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. Lauren had never heard him talk about Sirius, everytime she'd asked him he'd storm off or simply pretend her hadn't heard her, it was easier to leave the subject alone. Noticing the shocked look in her teal eyes, he cleared his throat and continued like he'd never said it,"what've you got first then?" "Oh, I've got History of Magic," Lauren rolled her eyes,"you?" She hadn't completely recovered from what he'd said about his brother.  
"I've got Transfiguration, double, It's gonna be torture," Regulus replied, grimacing at his lesson. "I'd rather do that then sit in History of Magic for a hundred and fifty minutes," Lauren admitted. "At least you can sleep, well not you but others can," he countered, smiling. "I have to take notes! What about for tests? It's not going to help me if I've slept through every lesson, I mean Remus and Lily take notes too!" Lauren uttered, her fair eyebrows dipping slightly. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with taking notes, but other people will sleep in your class," Regulus remarked. "Oh, I'm sure you're always taking notes, can't tear you away," she noted sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Shut up, I was merely supporting your view," he shot back, smiling warmly at her. "Anyway, I should probably go, don't wanna be late," Lauren suggested, nudging Alex. "Lauren, you've got twenty minutes!" "I know but, I really hate being late," Lauren admitted, blushing slightly. "Fine but we're having one of our eating things at dinner," Regulus told her, loud enough for his friends and Alex to hear, Rue never participated in things like that. What they did was give someone a piece of food and a challenge, either by themselves or to race against each other, like giving two people goblets of juice and seeing who could drink it quicker, those were the nice ones, in first year when they'd started it, Regulus challenged her that she couldn't eat mash potato seductively, that had been the most emmbrassing moment of her life and she cringed remembering it. "Okay! I'm gonna win!" she told them, smirking. "No, you're not, I am!" Regulus shot back, narrowing his eyes playfully. "Excuse me, who can down pumpkin juice in thirty seconds?" "Who can drink gravy?" "Who can eat mash potato seductively?" Lauren shot back, knowing she'd won. "That was hilarious!" Regulus exclaimed, remembering. "It was not! It was very embarassing! I still haven't forgiven you for that, you know?" Lauren told him, standing up. "It was very funny for me! I'll see you later then," "Okay, I'll look forward to beating you all," Lauren called, walking down the side of the emerald table with Alex and Rue. "Keep dreaming!" he retorted as she walked into the dull, entrance hall, the weather still gloomy.

They walked up the pink, marble staircase that had lost it's shine, along one of the corrdors that looked like it belonged in the dungeons as shadows were lining each side and goosebumps covered their arms as they strode to the History of Magic classroom. A familar scowling face greeted her as Lauren joined the queue waiting to go inside, it twisted like a snake and, even though it was meant to be single file, it had odd clusters of students talking in groups. The marauders hadn't arrive yet; they were always late for every lesson, except potions because they were good friends with professor Greyson and liked to talk to him before it started. Lauren had been so preoccupied with Pansy, eating competitions and her flicky hair, she'd forgotten to be worried about if the marauders would act normal towards her, she'd basically blanked them all weekend, maybe they resented her for it? It would be even more awkward if they were mad because she the seating plan meant that she was sat next to Sirius, Rue was sat next to Frank, a Gryffindor boy with tawny, cropped hair and dull, brown eyes, he always seemed very bossy, godknows what he did living with the marauders who were the messiest people alive, apart from Lauren, however he seemed very pleasent, and Alex was sat next to Skye, a slender Gryffindor girl who looked scarily similar to Alex, they both shared sky blue eyes and blond hair, the only difference was that Skye's was dead straight like a ruler and Alex's was curled. Skye was a very chatty girl, she and Alex often got told off for talking too much in class, she seemed pleasent enough but it would help her to concentrate as she wasn't the brightest spark in the group, she went around in a group with Cho and other Ravenclaw's. Just then, the wooden door swung open and both the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's flooded into the History of Mgaic classroom. The tables were set out in rows, a desk sat two and there were five tables to a row, a long, smeered blackboard stretched out in front of the teacher's desk at the front and the room was always swelteringly hot but Lauren doubted whether that would be the case. A ghost taught the subject who had been through every goblin war and other unimportant subjects they were forced to listen to, the class being exceptionally boring and an almost oblivious ghost, he always told people off for talking, were not a good mix with the heat, many students fell asleep, some doodled and only about four were actually listening and taking notes, Remus, Lily, Rue and Lauren. Walking to the second row from the back, Lauren took out her yellow book with black writing, a sheet of parchment, her eagle feather quill and a pot of black, runny ink. Alex walked over to her place, not even bothering to unpack and immediatly talking to Skye and Rue took her seat and immitated Lauren, she tried to make conversation with Frank and, although her did try his best, they didn't have much in common and what they did have would've been talked about in the first five minutes, smiling at both them, she took her seat and turned her attention to their teacher. Supporting her head with the palm of her hand, she watched as he stood in front of the class, it was actually more of a hover, and cleared his throat. His pure white eyes searched around, checking for all of the students and then his smooth, soft voice rang. "Has anyone seen Mr Potter, Mr Black, Mr Lupin, Mr Pettigrew or Miss Evans?" He asked, looking unexpectant. No one spoke, everyones faces wore blank expressions, by now professor Dombey was use to them stumbling in late, Sirius and James not apologising and walking arrogantly to their seats like they'd walked in perfectly on time, Lily and Remus apologised many times and hurried to their seats, as usual Peter did nothing, he just walked to his seat, expressionless. "Well, we might as well get started, I grow tired in hoping one day they will be here on time," he talked very old-fashioned, never abbreviating words or using contractions. "Now, today we are going to learn about the goblin war of 1720-" he was cut off by the classroom door bursting open, Sirius staggered in first, next Lily, who'd pushed him through, she apologised, then James who pushed his glasses up and ruffled his hair, making it stick out, after was Remus, who apologised and went to sit in his place and Peter walked in last, taking his seat, a glazed look in his dull, brown eyes. "Right, now that we are all here," he glared at the marauders,"as I was saying, we are going to study the goblin war of 1720, now this war was very important because..." he droned out. "You're ten minutes late," Lauren hissed as Sirius took his place, not bothering to take his books, a quill or parchment out. "Well, it's not as if we missed anything and this class is really boring," he whispered back, turning to her, Lauren kept her eyes either glued to her parchment or gazing at their teacher. "I'll remind you of that when you fail your test," Lauren hissed, her teal eyes glazing over. "I won't fail, plus it's only History of Magic," he replied. "Wow, the history of basically your whole life, you're right, it's not important," she shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But all we do is learn about goblin wars, how's that helping?" Sirius asked, his stormy eyes gazing intently on her. "Goblins run gringotts in case you hadn't noticed, it would be ignorent of us not to know something about them," she countered, her eyes twinkling in the glow of the candles. "I don't need to know everything though, just a bit about their history," "Fine, do whatever you want but don't ask to use my notes when you want to study for a test," she snapped, furrowing her eyebrows. "Well, with you, Remus and Lily all taking notes, I'm sure I'll manage," he shot back, flecks of arrogance in his stormy eyes. Lauren didn't reply, she was trying to soak in every word the teacher was saying, trying to imprint them onto the brain, trying to learn everything she was being told. She was scribbling down facts that he was telling them, a bored tone to his voice that could've sent someone to sleep, when something sharp hit her back. Frowning, she turned around and saw James looking apologetic. "Ouch, what was that for?!" she hissed, her frown deepening. "Sorry, Lauren! That wasn't meant for you!" James told her, smiling. "Well then work on your aim," she snapped, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Mr Black! Mr Potter! Miss Colt!" Lauren turned back around to see their teacher frowning at them,"please concentrate," Lauren cringed waiting for a jibe from Pansy that would make her turn the colour of the setting sun, but it never came. Professor Dombey immediatly returned to recietment of the war, his voice droaning and the story becoming agonising to listen to, Lauren sent her teal eyes towards Pansy who looked down in the dumps about something, her emerald eyes look glossier than usual, all the fierceness and malice was gone from her features, her face was expressionless, something had happened. Even though she was obviously upset about something, Lauren couldn't help but feel pleased that she wasn't shouting insults or making jibes. "What's up with Parkinson?" Sirius whispered, he'd obviously followed Lauren's line of sight and seen her too. "No idea, she looks really gloomy," Lauren replied, turning back to the board, laying her head in the crook of her arm. "Well, Malfoy doesn't look in the best spirits either," "Do you reckon they've had an argument?" Lauren asked, not taking her eyes away from the teacher. "It looks that way because Blaise and Annabeth look really awkward," Sirius told her, secretly admiring her teal eyes and the way her head fitted perfectly in the crook of her arm. 'No, friends, we're friends' he told himself forcing his stormy eyes forward. "I wonder what they argued about," Lauren mused, her brows dipping slightly. "Could've been anything," Sirius retorted,"Ouch!" Lauren snapped her head towards him, he was rubbing his arm frantically and glaring at James. "What are you two doing?!" Lauren hissed, frowning at them both. "I'm being attacked!" Sirius exclaimed, glowering at his best friend in a playful way. "I'm not doing anything!" James replied, holding up his hands. "Either stop killing him," she told James, then she turned back to Sirius,"or die quietly,"  
"Mr Potter! Mr Black! Miss Colt! What did I just say?" He asked, glaring at the three of them. "You said that many lives were lost in the goblin war and most of them died of decapitation," Lauren replied, smiling sweetly. "Well, if you could give me your full attention in future," Professor Dombey told her, for a moment, Lauren could've sworn she saw an impressed look flitter across his face but next time she looked, he was as dull and boring as ever. "How'd you know that?" Sirius hissed, mirroring professor Dombey's impressed look. "It's called listening, Sirius, that's why we have ears," she retorted in a sarcastic voice and began scribbling down on the creamy parchment with her eagle feather quill. "Yeah Sirius," James added and sniggered into his desk. "Shut up, Prongs!" he hissed, scowling at him,"but you were listening to me and James," "As flattered as I am that you think I'd give you both my full attention," she rolled her eyes,"I was listening to both you and professor Dombey," Lauren whispered. "How?" "I have two ears, don't I?" "It's impossible! No one can listen to two conversations at once!" "I don't know, James is doing a pretty good job," she snapped, frowning. "How did you know? You can't see me and I wasn't even looking at you!" James exclaimed, looking shocked. She ignored him. "Now, if you're both done, could you please shut up and stop getting me into trouble?" Sirius and James fell silent, both of them looking shocked at her. "Close your mouths, you look like fish," "Mr Potter! Mr Black! Miss Colt, if I have to talk to you three one more time, you will be serving detention with me, understood?"  
"Yes, sir," Lauren replied, scribbling more notes down. The three of them fell silent, Sirius and James out of shock and Lauren because she simply didn't want a detention. Finally, the bell rang to signal end of lesson, a cheer escaped the class, though he seemed oblivious to it, Lauren packed her things away, the parchment was now full of facts, and slung her heavy bag over her shoulder. "Ah, before you leave class. I want an essay about the goblin war, 15 inches, then we will see how was playing attention," The class groaned, Lauren was just about to walk over to Rue and Alex when Sirius stopped her. "Lauren," she turned around, her chestnut hair flying out behind her like a silky flag. "What?" she asked, her eye brows raised. "Can I use your notes for the essay?" he replied, smiling hopefully. "And me," James injected, walking over to the couple. "Hmm, let me think," she knitted her brows together,"No," "Why not?" Sirius asked, looking dejected. "Because you're obviously too cool," she quoted with her fingers,"to get to class on time and to pay attention," she faked mused,"I wonder how cool you're look in detention," Lauren smiled, hitching her bag higher, she walked over to where Rue and Alex were waiting.

"What was all that about?" Alex asked as they made their way down the pink, marble staircases for break, the storm was still going stong and they had Herbology next which was located in greenhouses outside. Occasional lightening strikes would turn the grey, dull sky electric blue, the thunder sounded like a gun being shot and the rain was pellting so hard againsy the stain-glass windows of Hogwarts that Lauren thought they would shatter under the pressure. "Oh, James and Sirius wanted to borrow my notes for the essay," Lauren rolled her eyes. "Really? What did you tell them?" Alex asked, worry flitting across her face. "I said no, obviously. They think they're too cool to arrive on time and to bother to listen and If I gave them the notes, than they wouldn't learn anything," Lauren replied, narrowing her eyes and squinting out of one of the windows, the rain was so heavy, she couldn't even see the grounds. "You'll let me use them, right?" Alex quizzed, her sky eyes huge. "Alex, why weren't you listening?" Rue sighed, looking disapprovingly at her best friend. "Well, I did start to but then Skye asked me if I'd been to that new designer shop, the one in Diagon Alley, and of course I haven't, she was telling me all about it! It actually sounds amazing, sometime in the summer we'll have to go," Alex gushed, they'd walked through the entrance hall and taken a seat at the Slytherin table in the hall, since there was no where else to go, the grounds would be flooded and the common room would be packed. "Alex, I saw you, you didn't even take out your quill!" Lauren accused her, pulling her eyebrows together. "Well, Skye started the conversation immediatly, I got distracted," Alex lied, her mouth twitching. "Alex, we both know you're lying, so give up," Rue laughed, her pure white teeth exposed against her lips. "Fine! Okay! I didn't try but If you guys don't help me, I'll get a detention!" Alex exclaimed. "Why don't you ask Dean, I'm sure he'll know all about the goblin wars and have pages upon pages of notes," Lauren teased, the left side of her mouth pulling up. "No! Then it would just look like I'm using him and Ireallylikehim," Alex admitted and crimson crept up her cheeks. "Sorry, you what?" Rue asked, mirroring Lauren's smirk. "Yeah, I didn't get that last part either," Lauren added. "I said Ireallylikehim," Alex mumbled, the blush increasing. "You really, what?" Rue teased, smiling. "I really like him, okay?! There!" Alex snapped, averting her sea eyes. "I knew it! Well, it's a bit of luck that we have Herbology next, isn't it? Plus, I mean, Rue's already told them that we'd share a table, so it's basically set in stone," Lauren teased, pulling her cloak out of her green bag. "Urgh, you guys are going to tease me, aren't you?" she asked, grimacing. "We have to, we did it for Rue-"  
"You guys still do," Rue injected, blushing a little. "Exactly, and now, we have to give you the same treatment or it wouldn't be fair on her," "It's going to be really bad, isn't it?" "Well, I'll see how many inuendos I can fit in a hundred and fifty minutes, if that's what you mean?" Lauren asked, making her teal eyes wide and innocent. "I hate you, Colt," Alex snapped, narrowing her eyes. "Using surnames are we, Brunell-e,?" Lauren asked, smiling. "Its pronounced Brunelle! I thought you were fluent in french?" Alex challenged, smirking. "I am! It's just really funny to wind you up though!" Lauren told her, smiling sweetly. "I really hate you, Colt!" "Ooh, using my surname again, Brunell-e?" Lauren asked, she smirked at the scowl Alex was sending her and winked. "Guys, stop aruging. We should probably make our way to Herbology," Rue suggested, pulling her clock around herself.  
"Yeah, come on, Brunell-e," "I'm going to kill you, Colt. You better learn to sleep with one eye open," Alex snapped, pulling the black cloak around her like a vail. "Awh, what's got you all grumpy, Brunell-e?" Lauren asked pouting, she pulled her own cloak around her and they all walked out of the hall.

The rain made it almost impossible to see anything except what was a centimeter from your face, on the way to Herbology, Lauren had nearly walked into a tree three times, Alex kept wandering off the track and Rue was yelling at them both, drowned out by the thuds of the rain and the claps of thunder. The only thing that gave them any visibility at all was the sky that would turn electric blue occasionally, looking like a firework had been set off, the rain was dampening Lauren right down to the bone, her clothes were sticking to her body like they'd been glued on, the rain was biting at her already damp face, making it five times colder, Rue's and Alex's hair was flying everywhere, one minute strands were stuck to their wet faces, next they were being blown out behind them by strong, freezing winds. Pulling their cloaks tighter around their bodies, only slightly as the rain had taken care of that job, they pushed on to where the greenhouses were, or where they thought they were. Lauren's teeth began to chatter, even her bones felt like they were soaked through, with the whistling wind, clapping thunder, pelting rain and Lauren's teeth ringing in their frozen ears, they pressed on, shielding their faces from the rain with their hands. Each drop of rain that hit them felt like a stone, it stung against their cold faces and the wind whistled through their hair and cloaks, making the experience worse and chilling them. Eventually, they arrived at the greenhouses, they walked to the third one, that was the furthest away, the biting cold and whipping wind thrusting at their frozen bodies. Sliding the class door open, they entered and the hitting wind ceased, they were still frozen and Lauren couldn't feel her hands anymore. No other Slytherin's had arrived yet, all of the Ravenclaw students were waiting for them, they all looked like they'd just stepped out of the shower clothed. "Sorrrrryy, Professssoooorr," Lauren apologised through her chattering teeth, trying to pull her facial muscles into a smile but they seemed to be frozen in place by the bitting cold. "Not at all, I understand that the weather conditions aren't exactly ideal but I think we should start anyway, the others should be along in a minute," Professor Salathiel said, over her amber robes, she was wearing a long, black cloak that drowned her short, plump body, her thin, wired glasses were speckled with drops of rain water and her cheeks still had a rose tint, depsite the weather. "Now, if you could all find a seat please and I'll tell you what we're doing today," Lauren, Alex and Rue shuffled to a wooden table where Edward, Dean and Alex were waiting, Dean's and Alex's curly hair was dead straight, Edward's floppy hair was stuck to his forehead but his caramel still looked like liquid and were as warm as ever. Taking their seats, Rue sat next to Edward, Alex sat next to Dean and Lauren sat next to Alex, a forced smile set in place. "Hey, guys," Edward greeted as other people were bustling around finding seats. "Hey," Rue replied, smiling warmly. Lauren bit the inside of her cheek, the urge to laugh was sweeping over her again, she glued her teal eyes to the floor and smirked, Alex hit her on the arm. "Alex, you do realise I can't feel anything?" Lauren asked, still smirking. "Why?" "Because the cold numbs everything," Lauren told her, rolling her eyes. "How?" Alex asked, looking confused and blushing slightly. "I can answer that," Dean injected, looking proud. "I'm sure you can but I don't think she was talking to you," Lauren muttered, sending him a death glare. "If you'd rather-" "No, no it's fine, I'll just sit here," Lauren replied, her voice as icy as the wind outside. "Attention, please! Today, due to the weather conditions, we'll be doing theory work. I know it's not very fun but there's no other choice and we short most of Slytherin, please take out your textbooks and turn to page 412," Salathiel said, pushing her wired glasses higher on her nose. Lauren took out her eagle quill, a piece of parchment and the indigo velvet book with emerald writing, settling them out on the desk, she piled them up. The rest of her table had done the same, Alex was still blushing about he numbing thing and Rue's hands were tumbling over each other in her lap. Still rilled from before, Lauren flipped open her textbook and it thudded against the table, it would've been loud but it had to compete with the rain, wind and thunder outside. Running her teal eyes along the page, she read the text. "I hate theory," Alex complained, flipping open her textbook with much less force than Lauren. "It's on gillyweed and we've been studying it for over a week," Rue told her, smiling warmly. "Yes but I haven't been listening to her, you know I hate Herbology," Alex hissed, not wanting Dean to hear. "What's favourite subject then?" Edward asked, his warm, caramel eyes fixed on Alex. "I think it's Defense Against The Dark arts, you?" she replied, making conversation. "Mine's History of Magic," Alex gawped at him, her eyebrows raised. "History of Magic? But it's so boring!" Alex replied. "Yeah but it's interesting," He smiled, "What about you, Lauren?" She looked up from scribbling down the questions in the book.  
"She's amazing at everything," Alex injected before she could answer. "Really? There must be something she's bad at," Edward said in a friendly voice. "Well, I guess we can't all be perfect Ravenclaw's," Lauren mumbled, picking up her quill again. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that,"  
"Broomstick lessons," Lauren answered, reading the textbook and scribbling down something else. "They're not really lessons though, I mean they're not acedemic," Dean injected, smiling. "You didn't ask me what my favourite acedemic lesson was," she countered, scowling at her work. "What about you, Alex?" Rue asked, both Alex's looked up, their eyes expectant. "I meant boy Alex," "Mines charms," he replied, smiling. "Dean?" Alex asked, smiling warmly. "Transfiguration," he answered, smiling warmly back at her. "He's really good at it, he tranformed a hedgehog into a tea pot on his first try," Edward told them, smiling.  
"I'm not that great, it was more luck really," he answered humbly, his cheeks blushing slightly. "Oh, he's just being modest," Alex said, smiling. "What are you guys best at?" Rue asked, her huge, chocolate eyes swimming with kindness. "Oh, er," "Don't worry, we won't think you're being boastful," Alex reasured them, flicking her blond hair over her shoulders. "I guess Herbology," Edward answered, smiling. "Mines probably transfiguration," Dean replied, still blushing slightly. "I would say charms," Alex told them, smiling at the girls. "You guys?" "Probably Herbology," Rue admitted, smiling. "Er, well, it would have to be DADA since I'm not good at anything else," she replied, blushing a little. "I'm sure that's not true, everyone needs to stop being modest," Edward smiled. Their gazes all fell on Lauren who was scribbling very fastly and very neatly, an impossible combenation. Sighing, she looked up into five pairs of eyes, and put down her quill. "Does it have to be a lesson or in general?" Lauren asked in a bored voice. "Anything," Dean told her smiling, she didn't return it. "Quidditch," Lauren answered and turn her attention back to the textbook. "I haven't seen you play?" Alex asked, looking confused. "I don't play for Slytherin," she retorted, not taking her eyes off of her work. "Oh, do you just play at home then?" Dean asked. "No, I play for the TT, although I don't expect you to know them," Lauren mumbled, scowling at her book. "She's really good," Alex gushed, smiling at them. "Oh, what do you play?" Dean asked, faking interest. "What do you mean, what do I play?" she replied, narrowing her teal eyes. "Like what position?" Edward asked. "Merlin. Somebody here that actually knows anything about Quidditch," she mumbled,"I play beater," Lauren said louder. "Isn't that dangerous?" "Not if you know how to play," "It is! She's broken her nose every summer since she joined the TT," Rue explained, smiling. "Ouch, is it really painful?" Alex asked. "No, it gets treated at the end," "What do you mean at the end?" Edward asked, his eye brows knitted together. "The end of the game," Lauren replied, in a bored voice. "So, you play with a broken nose?" Edward asked, shocked. "Yeah," "Why?" Lauren looked up, a crease appearing in her forehead. "Because we want to win," Lauren explained, like it was obvious,"thought you guys were suppose to be smart," Rue cleared her throat loudly, they missed the last part. "Anyway, we should probably get on with this work," Dean suggested, flipping open his textbook and reading. "Lauren!" Alex hissed, scowling, she looked up from the sentence she was writing on the effects of gilleyweed. "What?" Lauren asked. "What's the answer to number 1?" "It's that it only grows in wet ground," Lauren replied, returning to her own work. "I think it's that it only grows in wet ground or under water," Dean corrected, smiling. "Excuse me?" Lauren asked, her voice icy and curt. "I was only saying-"  
"Well, you're the smart Ravenclaw, we should probably just listen to you," she sniped, narrowing her eyes at him. "Lauren, I think he was only trying-" Lauren slammed her book shut, it stopped Rue mid sentence. Grabbing her sheets of parchment, she walked up to Professor Salathiel and handed her it, her rimmed eyes galnced over, while she ticked everything Lauren had written. "Very good, Miss Colt, ten points to Slytherin," she squeaked, smiling broadly. "Thanks, Professor. What would you like me to do now?" Lauren replied, smiling for once in this lesson. "We don't have that long left, just sit at your desk," That was the worst thing she could've said, Lauren didn't like the boys and without her work she would have nothing to do. Smiling, she walked back to her place and sat down, staring outdside at the storm. "Lauren?" Rue's voice came, her eyes looked concerned. "What?" Lauren asked, in the kindest voice she could manage. "Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes glittering. "Yeah, I'm fine," "We were just wondering if we did something to upset you?" Edward asked, his voice kind and friendly, but Lauren wasn't feeling in a kind mood. "No," Lauren replied, feeling sick of how kind they were. "We were wondering If you wanted to come to the next Hogsmead trip with us?" Dean asked, eyeing her wearily, like a bomb that might explode any minute. "When is it?" "It's about three weeks from now," Alex told her. "Maybe," Lauren replied, vaguely, still staring out of the window. "So, what talents do you have?" Edward asked, smiling at Lauren.  
"I can speak French and Spanish," she answered, a flicker of a smile crossed her lips but she turned her attention to the window again.  
"Really?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes wide. "Yeah," "Could you say something then?" Edward asked, excitement in his caramel eyes. "Like what?" Lauren asked, frowning. "Anything," "Er, okay, J'adore Quidditch parce que c'est tres bien," "Which one was that?" Alex asked her. "French," "What about Spanish?" "Er, Tengo los ojos azules y tengo el pelo corto y castano," "Cool," Edward said, smiling. "Hm," Lauren answered. "Okay class! I think the bell's just gone, you all may leave now, good work and I'm sorry it couldn't have been more fun," Lauren grabbed her material bad, straightened her soaked cloak, smoothed her hair down and strode out of the greenhouse.

CHAPTER 20: A CLOAK

Sliding the door open, she walked out into the pelting rain, the wind whipped at her exposed skin making it red, every time her black cloak hit her body it stung and left a mark, everything was blurred, the rain was pouring into her eyes and the ground underfoot was muddy and slippery. Ignoring the thrusting wind, heavy rain and loud thunder claps, she trudged back up to the castle, the feeling of her clothes being glued to her hit again, there was no longer any seperation between her skin and where the clothes began, her face was stinging all over, every gust of bitter wind made her feel like she'd been hit in the face with a tree branch, every drop of rain hit her body like a stone, she was fighting against the wind. The coldness swirled and engulfed her as she clung to the last shreds of body warmth, tongues of ice were licking her damp arms, frost was nipping at her face, each bite hurting more than the last, her hands were no longer as pale as paper but they resmebled raw meat, her cheeks weren't blushed, for once, they were sore and stinging as the wind hit again and again, taunting her, teasing her, engulfing her. Lighening struck and the world around her turned electric blue, she couldn't see anything a milimeter from her face, the world was dull, the rain was pouring down, the coldness and dampness reach her bones, seeping through her skin, freezing her insides. Pulling her black robe closer, she titlted her head towards the gravel path, the rain pellted the top of her head instead of her eyes and the visibilty was about the same. Her teeth were chattering together, sounding like a xylophone, the wind hit like a fist, every punch hurt more than the last, the thunder roared like a lion, the lightening looked like an electric shock, it lit the entire sky up. The wind was whipping at her ears, redening them and making it impossible to hear anything except the thunder, it made sure the deafning claps got through, as though it was teasing her, torturing her, seeing how long it would take her to snap. Blocking her ears, she focused on the smell of the delicious foods that would be awaiting her in the grand hall, focused on the warmth that would greet her. Snapping her head up just in time, she dodge a tree that was about an inch for hitting her in the face. Sliding around it, she saw the stone steps leading up into the castle, they were beckoning her, protecting her from the harsh conditions of the weather, promsing her warmth and protection. With each step she took, she could hear the buzzing of conversation, smell the warmth of the foods, taste the tantilising flavours as they danced on her tongue, feel the smooth, gold cutlery in her hands, see the four tables draped in red, yellow, blue and green. Hurrying up the steps, she was spat into the entrance hall, the warmth seeping from the great hall and draping her. The warm air touched her skin, tongues of fire dancing around her, licking her, warming her from every angle, starting at the tips of her fingers and coursing with her blood around her body, moving in her vanes, reaching the pit of her stomach and the bottoms of her feet. It was like drinking hot tea, the warmth seemed to spread, down her throat, through her arms, around her intestines. Her skin began to tingle as the hot and cold tongues met, feeling as if someone was prodding her with a needle, her hands were sore, it felt like someone was dragging the tip of a knife along her arms and legs, like they were poking her with pins around her middle. Not wanting to dwell on the pain that was piercing her body, she strode into the hall, wringing out her clothes as she went, he shoes squeaked along the marble floor, water flooding from her sock to her shoe as she walked. Seeing the dry Slytherin's already sitting down, she resented them even more, she hurried over to her place and sat down, water trickling down her legs and the bench. "What happened to you?" Regulus asked as she sat beside him, wringing out her cloak. "Herrrrbbboollogy," Lauren hissed through chattering teeth. "Why aren't the other fourth years wet?" he asked, taking his own cloak out of his bag. "Diddddnn't show uppp," Lauren replied, her teeth unable to stop. Regulus wrapped his own cloak around her body, it drowned her like a huge blanket, as he was several inches taller, the warmth from two robes managed to almost stop her teeth. "Better?" he asked, concern in his stormy eyes. "Yes, thanksssss," she breathed, commanding her arms to move from the position the ice had frozen them in. Grabbing her gold plate, she slopped vegetable soup onto it, It swum around, swishing and swirling as she placed the plate back down again, full of warming soup. Picking up her gold spoon, she scooped some up and thrust it into her mouth. The red liquid ran down her throat, gliding easily, it warmed her mouth and throat, burning slightly. Feeling the warmth travel down her throat and into her stomach, she savoured the flavours that were dancing on her tongue, rich tomarto, spicy chillie and thick cream, each compliementing the one before it. Slurping it down, she enjoyed as the warming feeling spread to her whole body, her temperature returned to normal, it no longer felt like she'd been plunged into artic water, her skin returned to a paper white instead of raw meat and her face stopped tingling. Gulping down pumpkin juice, she whiped her upper lip as it soothed the burns she'd got from the steaming hot soup. "Where are Alex and Rue?" he asked once he'd finished his own soup. "Well, we had to sit with her boyfriend and his two mates in Herbology and I..." Lauren didn't finish, she just looked down feeling blood rushing to her cheeks, she wasn't sure whether it was an improvement from numb and stinging or not. "You what?" Regulus asked, his stormy eyes swirling with concern and curiousity. "I was really rude to them," Lauren told him, meeting his piercing stormy gaze, her eyes twinkling under the candle light. "Why?" "I don't know exactly, they just annoyed me, then they go and think they're smarting than me! I mean, who do they think they are to correct me?!" Lauren exclaimed feeling anger surge through her again. "Calm down, Lauren," Regulus soothed,"I'm sure they didn't mean to offend you," "Well, they did it twice, it can't of been an accident twice, can it?" Lauren asked, her cheeks glowing red. "They were probably just trying to impress the other girls, you know, like 'look how smart I am' kind of thing," he told her, smiling. "Yeah, well I wish they'd do it less insufferably," Lauren admitted, narrowing her eyes. Regulus laughed. "Being a boy,-" "Merlin! No way?!" Lauren injected sarcastically. "Yeah! Anyway, being a boy I know what lengths they'll go to to impress girls," he said shrugging. "Well, James started acting like a complete idiot when he fancied Lily," Lauren mused, her eyes glazing over. "Exactly, they didn't mean anything by it," Regulus assured her, smiling warmly.  
"Okay, now you've made me feel awful," Lauren sighed, pouting her lower lip. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean too," Regulus told her,"but I guess you can apologise now," Lauren knitted her eyebrows together and he nodded his head towards the entrance and she spun around. Five, very soggy, figures were entering the hall, Edward and Dean had given Rue and Alex their cloaks, the emblems were blue with an eagle, when they saw Lauren they half smiled.  
"I've got to apologise, haven't I?" Lauren asked, looking scared. "Yeah, you do," Regulus told her, nudging her forward. "Come with me?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes pleading. "Of course, let's go," Regulus waved at them, indicating they were coming over. Grudingly, Lauren slid out from the wooden bench, nearly tripped on Regulus' cloak, and walked over to them, holding the huge robe up. He was standing behind her, prodding her in the back, reminding her that she had to do this. "I've just remembered, I've got to-" "Nope," He said, grabbing her waist before she could scoot round him. Lauren sighed, he let go of her and pushed her forward to the soaked group. "Er, hey," she greeted, keeping her diamond eyes fixed on the floor. "Hey," Edward greeted, the same kind smile playing on his lips. "I, er, I," Lauren tried to search for the right words, but they didn't come, her brain was scrambled. "Hey, erm what Lauren is trying to tell you guys is that she's sorry," Regulus interpretated, smiling warmly. She simply nodded, not trusting her voice. "She hates people correcting her and she doesn't like people being smarter than her," he told them, still smiling. Lauren smiled awkwardly and nodded again. "Seriously? You hate people being smarter than you?" Dean asked, amusment crossing his face. Lauren felt her cheeks heating up, she nodded again, smiling apologetically. "You should've been in Ravenclaw," Alex told her, smiling warmly.  
"You guys aren't mad?" Lauren asked, blushing deeper. "No, we're not. We thought it would be something like that, sometimes we feel the same way, well I have," Edward told her, his eyes swimming with kindness. "Thanks," Lauren replied, her cheeks rushing with blood. "But you are definetly coming with us to Hogsmead next time," Dean told her, smiling. "Well, I'm going back to my friends, my work here is done," Regulus said, smiling at the group once more. Lauren spun around to face him. "Thanks," she breathed and smiled. "No problem, oh and guess what?" he asked, his stormy eyes friendly and kind. "What?" "I'm gonna win later," he told her, a smirk pulling at his lips. "You wish! I'm gonna take you down," Lauren replied and laughed, her face lighting up. "Pah! Yeah, whatever," He commented, smiled and walked back over to the Slytherin table to join his friends. "What are you going to take him down in?" Edward asked, amused. "Oh, we do this food competition thing, it's challenges we set each other," Lauren explained, smiling. "Yeah but Rue never takes part," Alex sulked, pouting. "Because it's stupid," Rue defended. "It's not stupid, it's fun! Alex agrees with me!" Two pairs of eyes shot up in sync,"I meant girl Alex, that's what I'm calling you guys by the way, boy Alex and girl Alex," Lauren told them. "Er, okay?" Alex asked, his eyes confused. "Well, I'm not calling you both Alex, it's too confusing!" "Do I have to be girl Alex?" Alex asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Well, you can be boy Alex if you want?" Lauren teased. "No! I meant like he can be smart Alex?" "You can either be girl Alex or Brunell-e?" "Fine, girl Alex," "What do you guys have next?" Dean asked. "We have double DADA, you?" Alex responded. "Er, double History of Magic with the Gryffindor's," Edward told them, smiling. "Good luck and don't die of boredom," "One second," Lauren told them, she whipped her wand out of her damp sock and gripped it. "Lauren?" Rue asked, unsure of what she was doing. Muttering something, she twisted the wand around herself, Alex, Rue, Dean, Edward and Alex, a warm air shot out the end and emgulfed the three girls and three boys, like a hairdyer, and they were dry and warm as they had been this morning. "See? Much better," Lauren announced. "Thanks," Edward said, examining his dry clothes. Rue and Alex pulled of their cloaks and handed them back, smiling warmly at them, Lauren giggled towards the floor and Alex kicked her. "I guess, we'll see you guys at dinner," Dean told them, stuffing his cloak into his bag. "Yeah, see you guys," Alex commented, as they walked towards the entrance hall. "Whose cloak are you wearing?" Rue asked, examining the black blanket that was draping along behind her like the train of a wedding dress. "Oh, I nearly forgot, thanks guys," Pulling the cloak off of her, she folded it up in her arms and walked back over to the Slytherin table where Regulus was sitting with his friends. "Thanks," Lauren said and handed him back his folded robe. "You do know I'm just going to stuff it into my bag, right? You didn't need to fold it," he told her. "Fine, don't be greatful," she replied, pulling her eyebrows together. "Sorry! Thank you for folding my cloak," Regulus said fakely. "You are most welcome," Lauren told him, smiling. "Hey! You know your friend, Alex, does she have a boyfriend?" One of Regulus' friends asked, he was quite tall, between Lauren and Regulus' hight, he had warm, honey eyes and cropped, jet black hair that was slightly wavy on his head. "Er, she likes someone and they like her back but they're not officially going out, why?" Lauren asked, her eyebrows raised. "I was just wondering," he answered, blushing a little. "Well, then the easy answer is yes," Lauren told him. "Oh, Okay," he said, looking slightly dejected. "Guess what?" Regulus asked. "I'm gonna beat you, end of," Lauren told him, narrowing her eyes. "Excuse me? Remember when I had to down four goblets of juice and I did it in two minutes!" "I do remember that because you spat most of it on me," Lauren replied. "Oh, yeah, your fault for making me laugh," "Pfft, whatever, I'm going to win and maybe not get covered in juice this time," "I don't know, my friends are joining in. Have you convinced Rue?" "Nah, she says its stupid," "It is a bit stupid," "Yeah but it's really fun," Lauren said, smiling,"anyway, I'm gonna go, see you guys at dinner," Lauren told them, spinning around, she walked back to her friends. "Gonna win!" "I know I am!" "What was that all about?" Rue asked, her eyes watching Regulus and his friends. "Don't worry, let's go, don't want to be late," Lauren suggested and they walked out of the great hall as the bell rang.

They crossed the marble entrance hall, the rain was still pellting the many windows of Hogwarts, the thunder was rumbling louder than ever like a car engine bursting into life, the sky would turn electric blue quite often, the only light in the pouring rain and the dull, grey sky. Walking up the stairs, Lauren's legs began to ache, she would rather walk up a hundred flights of stairs than be outside again, four flights of stairs later, her legs were ready to drop off. Forcing them to keep moving, the girls walked up the freezing corridor, that made goosebumps appear on all of their arms, they reached their DADA room and lined up outside. Lauren was rubbing her arms frantically in an effort to warm them, the icy tongues were back and colder than ever, they were licking her arms and swirling around her, encasing her in a cone of coldness. Shuffling on the spot, she cast her teal eyes to the back of the queue, Pansy was stood there with Annabeth, looking as gloomy as the weather. Eventually the door swung open and Professor Silas appeared, he was in his usual emerald robes with silver patterns swirling, climbing, twirling and turning, his emerald eyes were as piercing as ever and his black, floppy hair looked silky and soft, when Lauren had first met him, she thought he was quite attractive but when she learned he was friends with her brother, she shook those feelings off. "Come in class," his sliky, smooth voice came, he disappeared back into the classroom as the line of students flooded in. The DADA class room was arranged in four wooden tables in each corner of the room, a long, smudge blackboard stretching across the front wall with his dark, oak desk in front. Light wood cupboards lined the walls containing textbooks about DADA, although they were never used and the cupboards were untouched. Crossing the room, Lauren, Alex and Rue walked over to a table at the back in the right corner, unpacking their leather bound, brown books with silver writing, quills, ink pots and parchment. Taking their seats, they turned their attention to the board and professor Silas. "Do you reckon professor Silas will come to yours for christmas?" Rue whispered as students around them were taking their seats. "What? Why would he?" Alex hissed, clearly jealous, she had a massive crush on him and it only increased when she found out he was twenty one, compared to the other teachers who were well into their fourties. "Alex, don't get jealous. He's my brothers friend remember? I don't know, he might, my parents will probably tell me nearer the time," Lauren replied, smiling. "If he does, you're going to have to invite Alex round or she'll never talk to you again," Rue teased. "I thought she really liked Dean?" Lauren hissed back, smirking at the blush that was appearing on Alex's cheeks. "Oh, yeah, I guess she'll just have to get over Silas," Rue replied, the smile on her lips growing. "Today classs, we shall be learning about the unforgiveable spells, I obviously cannot demonstrate them but I shall be doing my best to get the seriousness of these curses across, does anyone know them?" he asked. Lauren's pale hand shot straight up. "Miss Colt?" "Well, there's three, cruciartus, the torturing spell, Imperius, the controlling spell and Avarda Kadava, the killing curse," Lauren answered. "Exactly, the use of any of these curses will get you sent to askaban, they are forbidden by the ministry of magic. I wan't you all to turn to page 614 in your textbooks and complete the questions. I'm sorry that we're not having a pratical lesson today," "More theory?" Alex hissed, rolling her eyes,"this day is getting worse," Lauren flipped the creamy pages to 614, the questions were realively simple, 'What does the imperius curse do?' 'What is the actual spell for cruciartus?' She began to write down the answers on her creamy-brown parchment, scribbling away frantically, praying that these lessons passed quickly. "I thought these lessons were meant to help us in the real world, what am I going to do with this, throw the book at them?" Alex asked, rubbing her temples. "I guess it's better to know what spells we're going to be up against," Rue reasoned, smiling. "Plus, he can't exactly perform them," Lauren added, looking up from her paper. "I know but we should be learning spells and hexes, not reading about them," Alex hissed back, turning a creamy page. "Hopefully next lesson we'll learn some," "These curses are pretty important to learn about," Lauren countered, furrowing her brow. "Yeah but it doesn't tell us how to deflect them, it just tells us about them," Alex shot back, looking desperatly at her book. "You can't deflect the killing curse," Lauren told her,"but I get what you mean, I'd want to find out if I could resist the imperius curse," "It's improbable, not impossible but highly unlikely," Rue answered concentraiting on her work. "I know but it'd be useful to find out," Lauren replied, smiling. "I just wish we didn't have to do stupid theory," Alex hissed, making Lauren jump. "Alex, we'll do pratical next lesson, stop complaining and do your work." Lauren replied, rolling her eyes. "Look, professor Silas is walking over here," Rue whispered, her chocolate eyes wide. "What do you reckon he wants?" Alex asked, combing her hair with her fingers. "Not to insult you about your hair," Rue told her,"he probably wants to talk to Lauren," "Me? Why me?" Lauren hissed but Rue nudged her in the arm. "Hello, Lauren," He greeted, his piercing gaze on her. "Er, hey, sir," Lauren replied, smiling. "I wanted to make sure you didn't hate me, you know about the letter Nick sent," Lauren coughed very loudly and shook her head at him, he understood at once. "I'll let you get on with your work but please see me at the end," he told her, smiled and walked back up to the front, his emerald robes trailing behind him. "What was that all about?" Rue asked, her brows dipped. "I have no idea, he said he wanted to see me at the end," Lauren replied and began scribbling on her parchment again. "What do you think he wants to talk about?" Alex hissed, clearly bored. "Probably Nick," Lauren shrugged. The double lesson passed agonisingly slow, every minute seemed like an hour, the work was boring and repetitive, Alex kept sighing, Rue ended up staring into space most of the time and Lauren had resulted to looking like she was working, she had her head very close to the table and was wiggling the quill in her hand but her eyes were closed and the tip of the quill wasn't reaching the parchment, she thought the marauders would be proud. Eventually, the bell rang, she lifted her head off the table and packed away her things. "How much did you write?!" Alex hissed as she slipped her brown, leather book into her bag. "I wasn't writing, I was sleeping," Lauren replied, grinning. "But I saw your quill?" Alex asked, confusion sweeping over her. "My ingenuis plan, I was just wiggling it, it wasn't touching anything," Lauren explained, her grin stretching. "I swear you're becoming more like Sirius everyday," Alex replied, rolling her eyes. "Just because you didn't think of it," she teased back, smiling. "I'll see you guys in a minute, alright?" Lauren asked, slinging her material bag over her shoulder and waiting behind. When everyone had filled out of the classroom, professor Silas turned to her, his emerald eyes shining. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise you hadn't told your friends," He apologised, brushing his floppy hair out of his eyes. "It's not really the type of thing they'd understand, they've never had to put up with something like that. They're half-bloods," Lauren explained, smiling. "I hope you don't hate me for what I did, it's just your brothers always been a good friend to me and he was just worried," "I don't hate you, I would do anything for my friends too." Lauren replied. "That's a vert mature attitude to take, I'm starting to see traits that you've got of his," Silas commented, smiling, his eyes glittering like expenisve jewls. "Thanks. I was wondering, what was Nick like at school?" Lauren asked, curiousity gripping her. "He was much like yourself, a bright student, he was very mature, but he loved trouble, he was a cross between you and Fred and George. We went around in a group, the four of us, it was me, your brother and two other boys who went on to work at the minestry. We caused a lot of trouble, me and Nick were the main trouble makers, the other two helped but we got the most detentions. Also, he got all of the girls, they would always fall for him, he dated any of them, when the prettiest girl I've ever seen asked him out he was exstatic. In the end, I found out he was in love, there was this bright girl, much like yourself, she wasn't up for trouble making at all, she'd never been set a detention in her time here, top of the class, he had fallen for her. His reputation was that he was a player, everyone thought so but the truth was that they were oppertunity, I know that's not a very nice thought for you, so that's all I'm going to say, but he loved this one girl." "What happened between them?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes wide. "They grew closer, became best friends, she brought out the best in him, he made her relax a little, they were perfect," "But I've never met her?" Lauren asked, confusion sweeping over her features. "No, they dated in fourth year, everyone thought they were the perfect couple, they helped each other be, normal if you like, they were two extremes and they balanced each other out. They'd been dating for two years, it was the beginning of sixth year when he broke her heart," he continued, sadness washing over his attractive features. "What did he do?" Lauren asked,"er, sir," "You don't need to call me 'sir' when we're talking like this,"  
"Okay. How did he break her heart?" "One night his girlfriend found him kissing her bestfriend in a broom closet, her bestfriend was jealous of their relationship and she broke them up as she intended to. She never forgave him, everytime she saw him she would glare, she didn't speak to him ever again, not even in seventh year when she left. He'd gone to say goodbye and goodluck for her future, figuring she couldn't still be mad, but she was, she'd gone to work in Romania with dragons. The truth was she was deeply in love with him, he was too but one stupid mistake and he ruined everything they'd had. Previous to this, everyone at school thought they were going to be together forever, they were convinced one day they'd get married but he threw it all away," "Does," Lauren cleared her throat,"the way you described Nick, he sounded like..." Lauren couldn't finish that sentence. "Sirius? Yes, he was exactly like him and the girl, what she was like, ring any bells?" professor Silas promped. "She sounded like me, studious, never had a detention," Lauren mused, her teal eyes glazing over. "You see, Lauren, part of the reason he doesn't want you guys together may be because he carries the Black surname but it's mostly because he sees himself in Sirius and you in Rebecca, that was her name, he broke her heart.." "And he thinks Sirius will do the same," Lauren finished, her brain buzzing. "Exactly, it was only us and the two girls that knew the truth, we lied to everyone else, told them it was a mutual choice but there was nothing mutual about it. He lied to his own parents and brothers, now it's only the five of us, I'm here, Nick's an auror, Rebecca's off taiming dragons in Romania and the other girl, Rose, she works in the department of mysteries, she's long since forgotten her school days, married I think. Rebecca's married to some Romanian guy she met out there, it may disappoint your friend Alex but I'm in a relationship and Nick's the only one left," "Do you, do you think that Nick still hates himself for what happened between them?" Lauren asked. "Yes, he's over her but I know he constantly reminds himself of what could've been. They could be married, maybe even children, though its doubtful, anything could've happened," Professor Silas told her, smiling grimly. "So, that's the reason he doesn't want me and Sirius together?" "I'm afraid so, he sees too much of her in you and himself in Sirius to let it happen," "It's set in stone then, I can't change his mind," Lauren mused, frowning. "You'd want to change his mind?" Silas asked, his eyebrows raised. "What?! No! I was just...just musing, like if I wanted to, which I don't, then it would be impossible, I don't want him to though, I'm fine with not dating him, because I don't want to, date him," Lauren stuttered, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. "I'm going to believe you Lauren and turn a blind eye," Silas said smiling. "Thanks, er, sir," Lauren mumbled, hitching her bag higher and sprinting for the door. She found her friends halfway down the corridor, they were standing by the door of an empty Charms classroom talking. "Lauren! What did he say?" Rue asked, her brown eyes warm. "I'll tell you guys later, I've got to send a letter," Lauren mumbled, still blushing. "We're coming with you! I want to hear everything he told you," Alex hissed.

CHAPTER 21: A GAME

She pulled her cloak around herself, Lauren and Rue mirrored these actions and they climbed down the marble staircases, rain still pelting against the windows. They crossed the entrance hall that looked dull and gloomy, mirroring the weather outside, they reached the tall, oak doors and perpared themselves for the biting wind, loud thunder and hammering rain. Hurrying across the grounds, the wind whipped at their faces, the pelits of rain drowned their dry clothes, making them stick to their bodies and the booming thunder rang in their ears. Half running, they kept their heads down and ran past the lake, which had lost its sheene and rippling, the water was a dull, merky grey and it was crashing against the banks around the sides, like a monster trying to escape it's cadge. The sprinted past the tall tree that many students shaded under in the summer from the blazing sun, which now looked depressing and dull, just like everything else, they approached the owlery and rushed inside, glad to get out of the storm. They were greeted with tons of hoots from excited owls, they hadn't been let out due to the weather, Lauren went over to the school owls, they were mainly tawny owls but there was a snowy white one that belonged to James in the student section. Picking up a small, tawny owl with huge huges and fluffy feathers, she slipped the letter out of her pocket, rolled it up and tied it to his leg. "Colt mannor," Lauren told him, stroking his fluffy feathers. He hooted apprectively, telling her he understood and she walked over to the window, thrusting him out, he flew higher and higher until he disappeared in the storm. "Anyway what did he want to talk about?" Alex asked, eagerness in her sky eyes. "About Nick, I never found out what. I asked what Nick was like at school," she lied, smiling at her friends. "So, what did he say?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes full of curiousity. "Nick was a player at school, he went around in a group with four other boys, including Silas, they were all massive troublemakers especially him and Nick. Nick was a cross between me and Fred and George, he was a trouble maker and constantly getting detentions but he was very smart as well. Apparently, he went out with loads of girls, Silas told me Nick always got them, then, he fell in love, she was a bright and studious, she'd never had a detention in her life, he asked her out in fourth year and they dated until sixth year. Everyone thought they were going to be together forever, get married and have children, they balanced each other perfectly, he made her relax and have fun, she made him more studious, they brought out the best in each other. In sixth year, after they'd been dating for two years, Rebecca, his girlfriend, caught him kissing her best friend, Rose, I think he said her name was, in a broomcloset. Apparently, Rose had been jealous of their relationship and wanted to break them up, obviously she suceeded but Nick didn't date her, like she'd planned, Silas said he hasn't dated anyone since. The two girls are married, Rebecca moved to Romania to tame dragons and married some Romanian man and Rose is married and works at the minestry and Silas has a girlfriend," Lauren finished, Rue and Alex just gawped at her. "Professor Silas has a girlfriend?" Alex asked, disappointment washing over her. "Yes, Alex, that's the most important bit to my story," Lauren replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You know how that reminds me of?" Rue asked thoughtfully. "Who?" Lauren replied, dreading the answer, her fists were clenched. "You and Sirius," Rue told them, her huge eyes glazing over. "Excuse me, when have I been in love with Sirius?" Lauren challenged. "No, not the in love part but studious girl, rebel boy, it fits," "You've got to admit the resemblence between him and Sirius and you and Rebecca is scary," Alex added, throwing her sopping hair over her shoulders. "Yeah, I'll admit, there are similarities but guys! My brother was a trouble maker, a player, before he fell in love, he always makes out he's so perfect and studious but he wasn't!" Lauren exclaimed, her eyes glittering with anger. "Similarities? You guys are basically the same people, apart from the love bit," Rue hissed, her eyes widening. "And you look nothing alike," Alex added, smiling. "We don't know, Nick doesn't look like Sirius but Lauren could look like Rebecca and anyway, that's not important. How come your brothers never mentioned this?" Rue asked. "They don't know. The two boys, Nick and Silas, and the the two girls, Rebbeca and Rose, were the only ones who knew the truth, they told everyone else it was a mutual thing," Lauren answered. "So, your brother, Silas, Rebecca, Rose and us are the only ones who know what really happened?" Alex hissed, her sky eyes flecked with shock. "Exactly, not even my parents or brothers know," "Are you gonna ask him about it when you go home for Christmas?" Rue asked. "I was planning to but I don't wanna upset him, she was obviously very special to him," Lauren replied, smiling. "C'mon, let's go to dinner! I don't wanna be late, we've got our eating competiton!" Alex gushed. The three girls ran back across the grounds, the whistling wind hitting their faces, the thunder claps ringing in their eyes and rain gushing down onto them with as much pressure as a waterfall. The ran inside the gloomy entrance hall, glad to get out of the chilling rain, and basked in the warmth radiating off of the great hall. "Hold still," Lauren whipped her wand out, twirled it around the three of them, hot air blasted their faces and they were instantly dry. The three of them walked into the hall, their nostrils filling with the smells of the delicious dishes and the warmth that was steaming off of them, the ceiling mirrored the sky outside, except the rain wasn't falling down, it was swirling around, along with the grey, stormy clouds and blue lightening strikes that would make the sky flash. They took their seats at the emerald table, Regulus and his friends were already there, Rue turned away and tucked into the warm food she'd pilled onto her plate while Alex and Lauren faced Regulus. "Food challenge time," Lauren commented, a smirk pulling at the left side of her mouth. "Ladies first," Regulus told them, his stormy eyes alight with mischief. "I bet you don't apply that to anything else," Lauren accused, a smile playing on her pale lips. "No, Alex is first," he continued. "Why me?" Alex groaned. "Because it's alpahbetical, that's how it's always been," Lauren explained, smiling. "Urgh, fine, what do I have to do?" Alex asked, grimacing as the possibilties whirled around her mind. "I challenge you to drink your goblet of juice faster than Carlise," Regulus said and pointed at the boy Lauren had spoken to earlier. "Er, that could've been a lot worse," Alex sighed, relief flooding through her. "Yeah, we're saving those for Lauren," he replied, smiling. "Hey!" "Anyway, 3...2...1...GO!" Alex and Carlise picked up their goblets, his adams apple moved as he drunk, it looked quite strange, Alex was looking the most ungirly Lauren had even seen her, she had tipped her head completely back and was gulping at an alarming rate. Alex slammed down her goblet looking triumphant, Carlise dropped his literally moments later, sighing. "Ah, mate, you lost, Alex wins," Regulus announced, smiling. "Oh dear, I fear my masculinity might've come into question," Carlise sighed,"anyway, I challenge Lauren and Regulus against each other. What you have to do is hold the contence of your goblets in your mouths, you have to try and make each other laugh, thus spitting out the juice, the person who holds theirs the longest wins," "Ah, yes, you're going down, Colt," Regulus told her, smiling. "In your dreams, Black," Lauren shot back, smirking. "Is it me or do they take this way too seriously?" Alex asked watching them glare at each other. "They take it way too seriously," Carlise and Regulus' other friend said together. "Anyway, please hold the contents in your mouth and nod when you're ready," Lauren poured her juice into her mouth, the flavours danced on her tongue, and nodded, Regulus did the same. Lauren averted her gaze to the ceiling and stared up, Regulus could make her laugh easily and he knew it, occasionally she would smile but nothing more. Her mind was working full speed, what could make him laugh? She'd never really known, just being herself really, oh, great, being herself made him laugh, then she had an idea. They caught each others eyes, Lauren winked at him. He spit his pumpkin juice out, half of it going down himself, half of it over everyone else. Grabbing her goblet, Lauren spat her juice back and smiled triumphantly. "I win," she said simply, a broad smile stretching across her face. "You winked at me!" he accused, looking annoyed. "Yes but I also made you laugh, which made you spit out your juice therefore, I won," Lauren explained, smiling the whole time. "Fine, fine. You win," He admitted, a smile pulling at his lips. "See? Told you I would," Lauren rubbed it in. "Okay, can we move onto the next challenge?" "Someone doesn't like loosing," Lauren teased, sniggering into the table. "Lauren, could you?" Alex asked indicating to the people he'd drowned in juice and himself. "Oh, yeah," waving her wand, the sticky, orange juice disappeared, and left spotless robes in it's place. "Thanks," "Carlise, your challenge." Regulus said, smirking,"I challenge you to see how many chips you can fit in your mouth," "What? He gets that and I have to told juice in my mouth while someones trying to make me laugh?!" "I told you, you're getting all the bad ones," he replied, smirking at her. "Shut up. Anyway, while you're doing that, we should set another challenge," Lauren suggested. "Okay, it's your turn Jace," A tall boy with cropped, flaxen hair and warm, honey eyes grimaced as he looked expectantly at Regulus,"You have to down as many goblets of juice as you can, except don't touch Lauren's because she spit that out," The challenges went on from the time dinner started, to the time when teachers told everyone they had to go, getting stupider and harder as the night went on. At one point, Lauren had to stuff a massive slice of chocolate cake into her mouth, she felt very sick afterwards and It wasn't a pretty sight, Alex had to lick the cream off a cupcake suggestively, Carlise had to catch someones eye and eat while keeping their eyes locked, one boy gave him a really strange look and eviled the whole table, Regulus had to tip his head back while Lauren and Alex poured pumpkin juice into his open mouth. Laughing and joking, they carried on until nine when the great hall was closed and they were told to leave. Reluctantly, they left their silly game and walked back to their common room. "I must say Lauren, you look very attractive with chewed chocolate cake falling out of your mouth," Regulus joked, prodding her in the ribs. "The back of your mouth is your most attractive feature," Lauren shot back, laughing at his hurt expression. "I'm gonna get you next time, Colt," he spat, narrowing his eyes playfully. "You wish, Black," Lauren snipped, smiling. They reached the portraite hole, told him the password and climbed into the univiting, dark common room, they all said goodbye to each other and Regulus and Lauren were still trading insults when her and Alex walked up the marble stairs to their dorm, Rue had left after she'd finished her dinner. They walked along to the door with the plaque marked 'Slytherin 4th Years' and entered, Rue was already changed and reading in bed, she looked up when she heard the wooden door swing open. "Finished your stupid game?" she asked in a bored voice.  
"It wasn't stupid! It was hilarious, Lauren spat chewed chocolate cake out," Alex exclaimed and laughed as she remebered. "Charming," Rue commented. "I did look quite attractive to be honest," Lauren replied, pulling on her silky pajamas. "I can only imagine," Lauren brushed her teeth and washed her face, still joking with Alex about the challenges and about how Carlise fancied her, Pansy and Annabeth were already asleep, Lauren climbed into her bed that felt warm and cosy against her body and fell alseep almost instantly with the pattering of rain and the howling of the wind to break the silence.

CHAPER 22: AN UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP

Summer faded to autumn, the leaves turned brown and yellow, crunching underfoot as people made their way around the castle, Lauren was acting perfectly natural with Sirius although she still had those dreams at night, Pansy still looked down in the dumps every day and the insults stopped. She wasn't greeted with some jibe about their relationship everytime they got told off, she didn't make comments when they hung out and the constant insults had stopped completely. Life continued as normal, or about as normal as life got at Hogwarts, Lauren went to her lessons, completed her homework and still dreamed about Sirius every night. Regulus was still teasing her about the chocolate cake incident everytime they met and she continued to insist his best feature was the back of his mouth, Rue and Edward went on many dates, either just around the grounds or to Hogsmead. Alex and Dean had offically started dating when he asked her to be his girlfriend one Hogsmead trip, of course she'd said yes, and they were constantly together, Rue and Edward, Alex and Dean and Lauren and Alex, but only as friends. Sirius kept creeping into her thoughts, she'd be sitting in History of Magic or potions and notice how angelic his features looked, how stormy and enticing his eyes were, how hos angular jaw and black hair complimented each other perfectly. That was why she could never be anything more than friends with Alex; she was completely and utterly in love with Sirius Black. She went along with the facade, kept all her true feelings locked away, deep inside, pretended they were just friends, pretend not to notice how his smirk made her stomach flutter, how is stormy eyes looked perfect, how her palms would sweat whenever he was around. Rue and Alex were none the wiser, everything was normal for them, they all went to lessons together, they hung out with Dean, Alex and Edward more and, if the romance got a bit unbareable, Lauren would find the marauders and Lily under their usual tree by the rippling, glossy lake, James and Lily talking, Remus reading, Peter day dreaming and Sirius thinking or doing last minute homework. Lauren had started tutoring Peter, she was getting tired of the marauders giving him the answers and not telling him how they got it, one day she took matters into her own hands and it developed into tutoring. His worst subject was potions, for some reason he just couldn't remember the ingredients but she'd helped him and at least he wasn't failing. Sirius was secretly jealous, she always smiled so warmly, talked so kindly, explained it simply, never got annoyed, never lost her temper, he had her complete and undvided attention, she looked so pretty when hairs would fall down and frame her face or when she'd have to explain something twice and use had actions sun consiously. Sirius thought it was torture, his own personally hell, watching her give her attention to another guy, look at him with a kindness in her twinkling eyes, the way he wanted her to look at him. The leaves shriveled up and the castle was covered in an icy, white blanket that draped everything, the lake had frozen over, the tree had become bare and the marauders had to find another place to hang out at lunch and breaks. Lauren felt her stomach fluttering as christmas approached, the months had passed like mere weeks, all leading up to the moment she hated, the moment she dreaded, facing Nick. It was easy to lie in a letter, you weren't look at the person, it didn't feel like a lie, they couldn't see your guilty face or your truthful eyes, she would have to point blank lie to Nick's face, and she didn't think it was possible, his warm, chocolate eyes would search for the truth, and they would find it, it would come out and Lauren would be powerless to stop it. With these thoughts whirling around her mind, blocking pretty much everything else, the final weeks until christmas passed like days, the castle was draped with Christmas decorations, real christmas trees were lining the great hall, covered with enchanted baubals to look like the weather outside, silver tinsel and real fairys perched on top of them, icicles were placed on all of the staircases, reflecting the light but never melting. Mistletoe was placed up on the ceilings of basically every corridor, in the final days before Christmas, it was impossible to walk through one without finding a kissing couple there. Christmas had crept up on Lauren, it felt like one minute she was starting school, the warm summer air surronding her and the next minute, she was packing to go home for the holidays.

Lauren had tied her flicky chestnut hair back into a messy bun, shoved her wand in there and gotten out her list of what not to forget. Holding the soft, creamy-brown parchment in her hands, she threw objects across the dormitory and onto her bed, where they would be packed later. She was in the middle of throwing her Hogsmead clothes into her open, brown, trunk on the floor when the wooden door burst open, Pansy had run in, tears streaming down her blotchy face and locked herself in the bathroom, Lauren, Alex and Rue, who were also packing to go home for Christmas, stopped abruptly and glanced at each other. "Lauren, you can't really be thinking of-" but Rue stopped, Lauren was tentively walking across the room, wincing as the floorboards creaked underneath her light steps. She approached the tall, wooden door and knocked, the only thing that filled the silence were the sound of Pansy's sobs. "Go away!" Pansy shouted through her sobs but her voice didn't have it's usual malice. "Pansy, um, I was just wondering If you were okay?" Lauren asked, her voice soundly oddly kind towards her. Her sobs stopped, Lauren thought she was going to start screaming at her and edged away but no screams came. "Pansy?" "After all I've said and done to you, why do you care?" Pansy asked, her voice almost kind. "Because even though you've done all those things, you're crying and Christmas is meant to be a happy time," Lauren told her, she could hear the smile in her own voice and wondered why she was being kind to Pansy, of all the people, she was being kind to her person who'd made her life hell since she started back. "Listen, I appreciate your concern but I'm fine," Pansy answered, her voice smooth, all the hatred gone. "You don't look fine, you can tell me what's wrong, you can even obliviate my memory afterwards, as long as you can perform it, otherwise I'll do it to myself," Lauren promised, her voice full of kindess and sympathy, if someone had told her in her first week that she was going to be kind to Pansy Parkinson on Christmas eve, she would've laughed in her face and told them they were mental, funny, how things change. "How do I know you won't just spread it? You must want revenge for all those jibes and insults," Pansy replied, her voice breaking in the middle. "Pansy, I would be lying if I said I didn't want revenge for all those times you've made me blush but I wouldn't spread something that's made you cry, it'd be something petty, something that only school girls fought about, something that they only found important," Lauren replied. Pansy didn't know why but something made her trust Lauren, she felt like every word she spoke was truthful and sincere. Lauren heard the bathroom lock click and the door slowly swung open to reveal a sobbing Pansy with watery streaks on her blotchy cheeks and fresh tears falling from her eyes. "If I tell you, you, have, to promise," she gasped through fresh sobs that made her chest deepen. "I promise, otherwise I'll erase my own memory," Lauren promised, her thin lips pulling into a smile, smiling at Pansy Parkinson, she never thought she'd do that. "Okay, I'll tell you," she said, perching down on her prestine bed,"I've fancied Lucius for ages, it's been more than a crush, like every time I'm with him my stomach flutters, I can't help but feel jealous when other girls are around him,"  
"Your palms sweat uncontrolably, you wanna talk but can't find the words, you're constantly worried you'll make a complete pratt out of yourself," Lauren continued, showing that she understood everything Pansy was going through. "Yeah, exactly," she gasped through her sobbs,"I decided that he needed to know, we've been friends for ever and it'll just get more awkward if I let it string on and on. I told him a few months ago, the second week when we came back, before that he'd said he fancied someone, I told him and he was really nice about it and everything," Pansy told her, tears pouring down her cheeks. Lauren grabbed some tisues and passed them to her, Pansy smiled in response. "But if you told him four months ago, why are you crying now?" Lauren asked, confusion flititng across her face. "Because I heard him talking with Blaise and Anna, he was telling them how pathetic I was and how he'd never go out with me, Anna was defending me and it ended in a massive argument. Blaise and Anna are dating and this thing has basically split them up, it's all my fault!" Pansy cried and sobbed into the tissue. "What? Malfoy said that?" Lauren asked, hatred hitting her voice. "Yeah and you wanna know what's worse?" "What?" "He fancies you," Pansy choked out through tears. Lauren wasn't sure she'd heard Pansy properly, her head began to buzz and her thoughts all jumbled, Malfoy hated her, it didn't make any sense. "Well, I hate Malfoy," Lauren replied, furrowing her brow. "you, you do?" Pansy choked,"but what you were saying earlier, about those feelings, who, were , you refering to?" "Yes, Lauren?" Rue injected, she'd been listening the whole time with Alex. "Lauren are you crushing on somebody?" Alex asked, her eyes alight. "No, I was talking from the past," Lauren lied, turning back to Pansy,"I had this guy called Finnick, I was, well there's no other word for it, I was obsessed, I use to stalk him around the house. Proper creepy like, I use to like pester him constantly, yeah, it's pretty cringy," Pansy half choked, half laughed,"Really?" "Yeah, I use to like badger him, what he was doing at work, what stuff he liked and I use to follow him around, I was a pretty messed up kid. I got really jealous when he would talk about girls at work, I made a hate poster of all of them," Lauren admitted. "Seriously?" Alex gasped, fighting back laughter. "Yeah and If you guys tell anyone, I'll kill you," Lauren warned them, smiling at Pansy,"now let's pack!" "You call that packing?" Rue scoffed. "It's my version of packing," Lauren told her, smiling. When the four girls had packed their brown trunks, Rue's did weight more than her, they measured, the trunks disappeared and they all made their way down the corridor, through the empty, freezing common room, up the glossy, marble steps and into the entrance hall. It had reclaimed it's old shine and the marble shone once again, the storms had passed and pure-white, fluffy snow had flurried down. It looked as impressive as before and was packed with students, all dressed in their winter clothes, ready to catch the Hogwarts express back to London, London didn't feel like home anymore, here did, Hogwarts ws home, Hogwarts was her home. Casting her teal eyes around, Lauren felt disappiontment lerch in her stomach as the marauders and more importantly Sirius weren't there for her to say goodbye but a familiair emerald-eyed girl with blood-red hair was, Lily was beaming at her and waving, mouthing for her to write. "Pansy!" A voice shouted, Pansy cast her emerald eyes around until they met Annabeth's sky ones, she was walking with Blaise and they were hand-in-hand, walking through the bodies. "See? I told you they weren't going to break up," Lauren whispered as the couple approached. "Thank you, for everything Lauren," Pansy whispered back, smiling, a genuine smile. "Listen, er, Lauren, I'm sorry for all the jibes and insults," Annabeth apologised, smiling warmly. "That's alright, I might keep 'golden girl' it has a good ring to it," Lauren replied, smiling back. "I'm, er, sorry too," Blaise mumbled, keeping his huge, chocolate eyes on the floor. "Thanks, I appreciate how hard that was," Lauren told him and Blaise smiled, he actually smiled. "I liked bad boy Black, did you guys come up with it?" Alex asked. "Yeah, Blaise did," Annabeth answered, smiling proudly. "And before Lauren's lower bodies dies due to loss of blood, let's go," Rue joked and smirked at her best friend. "I wasn't kidding about that, you guys would make a cute couple," Pansy told her as they approached the tall, wooden doors. "Er, thanks?" Lauren asked, uncertain whether it was a compliment or not.  
"Pansy!" A voice called, she spun around and saw Malfoy running towards her. "Pansy, I'm really sorry," he gasped, clutching a stitch in his side. "Tell it to someone who cares, Malfoy," Pansy snapped and walked out into the pure white grounds. Lauren roared with laughter and followed Pansy out of the doors and into the perfect, untouched snow. Soon, everyone had caught up and they were walking along in a massive group, the snow crunching under their feet with every new step. They climbed into the wooden carriages and journyed to Hogsmead station, the six of them, acting like best friends. "Lauren, everyone thinks you and Sirius would make a cute couple," Pansy started, looking expectant. "No, Pansy, we're friends," Lauren told her, rolling her eyes. "No, you guys would balance each other out," She continued, not loosing hope. "How?" "Well, he would bring out a mischevious side in you-"  
"Then I could get detentions, such fun!" Lauren injected, her voice sarcastic. "No, he'd bring out the mischevious side in you and you'd bring out the studious side in him, it'd be perfect," Pansy gushed, making Annabeth nod along, even though she was far too busy talking to Blaise. "Er, no, I'm not dating him," Lauren told her, feeling blood rush to her cheeks. "Just think about it, you guys would be so cute!" "No, Pansy, we would not be cute, it would be weird," "She's got a point Lauren," Alex added, smiling. "No, she doesn't! I'm not dating him, I don't want to and it would be really weird," "Golden girl and bad boy Black, has a ring to it," Alex mused. "I think so," Rue admitted, smiling.  
"Me too," "No, guys, it does not!" They all climbed out of the carriage, they walked to the station, the town of Hogsmead was covered in a thick, white blanket, making it look like a snow globe, they all boarded the train and prepared for the long journy home.

CHAPTER 23: A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS?

Crimson sunlight was pouring through the window as the six of them, Pansy, Blaise, Annabeth, Lauren, Rue and Alex, were sat in a compartment travelling home for Christmas. Lauren had fallen alseep, as they had to be up at five to leave early, and was dreaming about Sirius again, many things had changed over four months but that had always stayed the same, she'd dreamt about him every night since she'd discovered her feelings for him, Pansy was in conversation with Alex, Rue was reading a Herbology book, bound in purple velvet with emerald writing, and Annabeth and Blaise were talking quietly, they were so close, they'd be kissing in a minute. Lauren's dreams had gotten worse, they weren't just about dates now, they were about every day life, she'd imagine the lessons she was going to have with Sirius in them, no matter how bad they got, she always wished they were real. The thought of being without her friends for a whole two weeks scared her, she didn't want to be stuck with her family, playing Qudditch, as much as she loved the sport, she wanted to be with her friends, to be with him. Slowly, the castle faded away until there were no turrets left to see, no huge building, just countryside blurring past the compartment windows. The train ride passed quickly, the seven hour journey seemed to take no time at all, the sky turned bluey-grey, than stromy, reminding Lauren of someones eyes, then royal blue as they pulled into the station but that was alway the way, things you dreaded came around faster than possible, like fastforwarding time. The tiny gems were twinkling above their heads as the scarlett engine pulled to a halt on platform nine and three quaters in King's Cross Station, Pansy slid the wooden door open, and the others followed. They jumped off and the familair black smoke clouded the platform, they retrieved their luggage, Lauren and Blaise did most of the work as they were the strongest, and crossed the bairier to where all their parents and realtives would be wating to take them home. Lauren spotted Nick, Finnick and Matt, Charlie, her parents and Fred and George had already joined them, she waved and turned to the group of friends. "I'll see you guys after Christmas," Lauren told them, smiling warmly. "Are they all your family?" Pansy asked. "No, the one that doesn't look like the rest is Finnick," "The one you-"  
"Yes, anyway Merry Christmas," "Merry Christmas, Lauren Colt," "Pansy Parkinson," "I hated you yesterday," "I prefer you liking me," "Same, I'll see you after the holidays," she said and strode off. "Bye, Alex, Rue," she hugged her friends in turn and turned to Blaise and Annabeth. "I will see you guys later, Merry Christmas," "Merry Christmas, Lauren," Annabeth replied, smiling warmly. "Merry Christmas,"  
"You too Blaise," Lauren smiled warmly at them and walked over to her family, lugging her enormous trunk behind her, she'd already figured it weighed more than Rue, and joined them. "How was your first term?" Her mum gushed and she pulled her into a tight hug, her black, velvet dress tickling Lauren's face. "It was good, thanks," Lauren replied, coughing slightly as her mum released her. "You children are so unreliable! You never write, I haven't recieved one single letter, not one, you've had four months!" "Sorry, I was really busy, I didn't have time to write!" Lauren exclaimed as they walked out of the station towards the car park. "What were you busying doing?" Nick asked, smiling at her. "Studying, what else?" Lauren replied, her voice icy. She strode off ahead and began chatting to Matt about what was going on in the Qudditch world, she felt so disconnected in Hogwarts, Matt had won most of his matches, he'd broken is arm but that was fixed overnight. Reaching the silver car, they shoved their heavy trunks into the boot and all climbed in, the seats were enchanted to fit as many as needed, Nick was sitting on the left, then Charlie, next Matt, then Finnick, then Fred, after George and finally, on the opposite side was Lauren, she was staring out of the window wondering if Sirius was awake yet, whether he would've wished her a Merry Christmas, she felt slightly hurt that he didn't come and wave her off, after all they were best friends and it wouldn't have been unnatural or out of the ordinary. A sinking feeling in her chest, her eyes burst back to life from the glaze they were in, she noticed George and Fred watching her, smiling. She blushed a little, as they knew exactly who she was thinking about and turned back to the window, the sceenery outside blurred past, mixing the green of the grass with the red of the houses, merging everything together. The enchanted car pulled up to her house and everyone climbed out, grabbing her trunk she gave Nick the cold shoulder and tugged it inside the house.

"Right, since it's Christmas eve I'm going to roast some chestnuts in the kitchen. Fred, George and Lauren please empty your trunks and give me everything that needs washing," He mum instructed. "Okay, mum," Lauren walked up the spiralling staircase, admiring the pictures of the wall as she always did, her legs began to ache, Hogwarts and her house had way too many stairs. Trudging along the corridor, she reached her tall, wooden door, clasped the handle and walked inside. It looked as it always did, the aqua walls stood out, her bookcase stood tall, her desk was cluttered with odd bits of parchment and random stationairy, the bed that had been improvised for Lily was gone and the cream carpet felt soft and spongy underneath her bare feet. Her double bed was prestiene but she missed the security of the emerald drapes, the shield they provided, she dumped her brown case on it and flipped open the lid. Lauren started throwing clothes into piles, her dirty ones and the clean ones, sighing, she realised just how long these two weeks were going to be, it was the rule of time; when you wanted something to happen, the time passed agonisingly slowly and when you were dreading something, it passed like seconds. She would have to write to Lily everyday to stop herself going insane, these two weeks would feel like two years and nothing exciting would happen, it was Christmas tomorrow and then she had thirteen days to do whatever she wanted, the problem was she wanted nothing but to be back at Hogwarts, to be with all of her friends, with him. After she'd emptied her trunk, she slid it under her bed, she couldn't wait until two weeks time when she could take it out again, and took the dirty clothes down to her mum. Lauren was about to walk down the swirling staircase when someone grabbed her arm, she spun around and frowned as Nick came into view. "Lauren, I want to talk to you about the letter-" "Let go of me," Lauren commanded, her voice icy and curt, Fred and George had just appeared from their rooms, carrying piles of dirty clothes and throwing socks at each other. The stopped dead at the sceen in front of them, Lauren never stood up to Nick, she never used that voice with him. "I just want to talk to you-"  
"To be honest Nick, you've already said enough, you've made your view abundently clear and I have nothing more to say to you," Lauren spat, tugging her arm away and storming down the stairs. The smell of roasting nutes filled her nostrils, she dumped her clothes in a pile and walked into the kitchen, the warm scent was getting stronger and making her stomach grumble, she entered the kitchen and saw Matt, Finnick, Charlie and her parents gathered around their glass table, a mound of roasted chestnuts towered on a white plate with little, red bells decorating the edge. "Geez mum, how many did you make?" Lauren counted at least thirty roughly and she was sure she'd missed some out. "I made enough for this family, with yours and Charlies stomachs," She replied, smiling. Lauren walked over to the table, sat in a squishy leather chair and picked up one of the nuts. It felt warm and dry on her tongue, the flavours danced and twirled around her mouth, and she ate about ten before Fred and George came bustling through the door, hitting each other with their school ties. "Will you stop that! Eat some chestnuts, we'll have plenty to go around if Lauren stops eating them," Lauren was just about to pop another nut into her mouth, her mums glare fell on her and she slowly raised it to her lips and shoved it in. "I swear she has a bigger stomach than Charlie! Anyway, where's Nick? I told him I was roasting," "No idea, I saw him upstairs but he didn't follow me down," Lauren shrugged and ate another nut. "He'll be down in a minute, I'm sure. Anyway, tell me all about school," her mum gushed. "Whabt do ya wannba knobw?" Lauren asked through a mouthful fo chestnut. "Finish you food before you speak, honestly, I was sure I brought you up with manners," Emberly said, shaking her head. Lauren gulped very loudly, smiling and then repeated herself,"What do you wanna know?"  
"Well, I think we all want to know one thing," Charlie started, his mother cleared her throat loudly but he ignored her,"are you dating Sirius?" Lauren nearly spit out the nut she was chewing, she could feel her cheeks redening but they must've known. "No, I'm not but I thought you guys knew?" Lauren asked, casting her eyes to Fred and George who looked just as confused as her. "Knew what?" Charlie asked. "What Nick did?" Lauren prompted, raising her eyebrows. "What did Nick do?" Matt asked. "He send her that letter?" George prompted, staring in disbelief. "He didn't tell them," Fred commented, anger in his voice. "Unbelieveable! He didn't even tell them!" George exclaimed, his eyes narrowing. Just then the kitchen door swung open and Nick appeared, his black, silky hair ruffled. "Why don't you tell everyone what you did to Lauren?!" Fred shouted, anger blazing in his huge, chocolate eyes. "I don't see why it's yours or anyone elses business," Nick snapped, matching Fred's anger. "It is when you're trying to control her, she has her own life!" George snapped back, making everyone jump, he never lost his temper. "You're all the big protective brothers now? Funny, you've never been like this before," Nick snipped. "You don't need to protect her from everything! We know when we need to and when to let things slide," Fred retorted. "You'll get bored of protecting her soon, run off with your pathetic little friends and get into more trouble!" Nick snapped. "We're not going to run off! Our friends aren't pathetic and we won't get bored, we're just not obsessive like you!" George shot back, his hands fisted. "I'm just trying to do what's best for her! You can't just play brother when it suits you!" "No! You're trying to control her, it's her life not yours!" "So butt out of it!" "You guys play the protective brothers when the winds blowing in the right direction and you feel like it! At least I've always been there!" "I'd rather not be protective and let her do whatever she wanted!" Fred snipped, narrowing his eyes. "What did Nick do?" Charlie asked. "He forband Lauren from dating Sirius!" "What?!" Mrs Colt snapped, her teal eyes flecked with fury. "It's better than leaving it to these clowns!" Nick snapped. "Excuse me? Who are you calling a clown? You're a control freak!" "Nick! You don't have that authority! That lies with mum and dad!" Charlie shouted at him, furious. "Well, if he's like his parents he'll lead her to the dark arts!" Nick retorted. "He's not though!" Fred snapped,"he's nothing like that!" "Oh, well I'm glad you guys are such good friends," Nick spat,"but I'm not gonna take your word for it!" "What exactly is that suppose to mean?!" Fred yelled, his breaths heavy and unnatural. "It means that I'm glad all my siblings are so chummy but friendship clouds vision," "I think we'd know If he was a dark wizard," Matt snapped. "Would you? You've never even met him!" Nick snapped back, glaring. "But I trust Lauren's judgment," Matt retorted, scowling. "People have been known to be wrong, it isn't that rare!" "What, Lauren, Fred and me are all wrong?!" "Well, Lauren clearly has feelings for him and you guys are such great pals," Nick snapped, glaring at his younger brothers. "We didn't just become his friend without checking, he's no more a dark wizard than you or me!" Fred barked. "You just know this?!" Nick growled,"he's not exactly gonna tell his friends, is he?!"  
"Nick! You can't just accuse people of being dark wizards without proof!" Charlie snarled. "You can't just say they're not without proof!" Nick sniped. "What more proof do you want, he's in Gryffindor, he spends half his summer at the Potter's and he stays at Hogwarts for hoidays! If he was a dark wizard, surely he'd come home as often as possible to learn dark magic, since school doesn't teach them that?" Charlie challenged. "That's not proof! A few dark wizards weren't in Slytherin, he might've already learnt the spells and Potter's his friend!" Nick flared. "Who's vision is being clouded now?" Fred snapped. "What?!" "Well, you're combining your hatred of the Black family with your protecting of Lauren and you're ignoring the evidence right in front of your eyes!" "There is no evidence!" "How dare you make that choice for her!" Mrs. Colt snapped, crimson creeping up her cheeks. "Mum, you understand, I was just trying to do what's best for her!" Nick replied, a bit calmer. "I said I had no problem with it! It was my fight, no yours, you have no grudges against them!" "Mum, you cried over the loss of your best friend, how can you say I have no grudges?! I watched you cry!" Nick exploded. "I'm sorry that you feel that way Nick but I don't! We are not bringing this stupid argument for her and Sirius to carry on!" She snapped.  
"Stupid?! She told you she wanted to bring her children up as dark wizards!" Nick retorted, narrowing his eyes. "That was my problem, she was my best friend and it had nothing to do with you!" "Nothing to do with me?! It had everything to do with me! I knew her for ten years before she did that!" "Nick, you have no right to ban her from dating anybody, she can date him if she wishes!" "No, she can't!" Nick snapped back, anger blazing from him. "Who are you to decide that?!" Fred asked, scowling at him. "I have more right than you!" he retorted. "How'd you work that out?!" "Well, I've actually been there in the last ten years!" Nick snapped. "Excuse me?!" Fred shouted, stepping towards his older brother. "You guys like to play big, protective brothers when it suits you!" "You try to protect her from too much! She needs mistakes to learn from!" "I don't want to see her heart get broken!" "He's not going to do that!" Fred snapped. "Why not?!" Nick snarled. "Because he loves her!" "And how would you know?" Nick snapped back. "Because, well, because.." "He told you, news flash, people lie," Nick growled. "Have you even asked Lauren what she wants?" Finnick injected, him and Lauren had been sitting at the table watching the argument unfold, everyone fell silent. "Finnick's right," Fred commented and smiled warmly at him. "Okay, fine," Nick growled with far less warmth than Fred. Lauren had been stairing into the roaring fire, watching the flames dancing and twirling around the tiles, she'd been trying to block out the arguement, raising her teal eyes she saw six pairs of huge, chocolate eyes on her, one pair of sparkly teal and one pair of warm, hazel. "Lauren," Nick started, his voice kind and caring once again,"do you fancy him?" Lauren just stared at her brother wordless, she couldn't even begin to tell him what she felt towards Sirius, he wasn't some passing crush, it was so much more. The silence was eerie, no one was speaking, the creaking embers of the fire were the only thing filling it, and even they were dying away, everyone just looked at each other, apart from Lauren, her eyes were glued to the floor, she didn't look up, too afraid of what Nick's reaction would be. A warmth was surging through her body and up to her cheeks, it felt like there was no more blood left in her body, every single drop had risen to her cheeks, they felt like they'd give someone third-degree burns if they touched them. Her hands were twisiting over each other in her lap, they couldn't lay still, her eyes were darting from place to place but never to her family. "Lauren, I'm going to take your silence as a yes and I want you to know as soon as you start dating him, that's the moment you push me out of yor life, forever," Lauren looked up horrified, he wasn't being fair, this wasn't the Nick she knew, her brother, the protective Nick, he would never do this to her, he wouldn't make her choose. "Who are you?" she breathed, tears swelling in her teal eyes,"the Nick I knew, my brother, the protective one, he wouldn't do this to me, he wouldn't be unfair, he was never unfair, he wouldn't make me choose," Lauren stood up, tears falling down her blushed cheeks, and she sprinted out of the room. Running up the staircase, she stumbled several times but she didn't feel it, she couldn't feel it, all that she felt was like she'd been kicked in the chest, her heart was pounding against her rib cage, like it wanted to break free, to rip out. Reaching her room, she thrust the door open and slammed it behind her, grabbing her chair and a few storage boxes, she jammed it shut and let the tears fall down freely. Grabbing parchment, a quill and a pot of ink, she decided to write to Lily.

Dear Lily, I'm in hell, actual hell, you don't know how much I would give you be with you right now and the marauders or Rue or Alex, laughing and joking, having fun. I'm going to go insane here, I've been here two minutes, how am I going to last two weeks? Hope you're well, have fun, I wish I was there.

Love Lauren p.s The owl bites.

Opening her window, Lauren was greeted by a gust of chiling, winter wind that licked her with it's tongues of ice and sent goosebumps prickling over her whole body. Whistling to attract her owl, she figured Charlie had let it out for the night, it was mainly his but Lauren used it too, a tawny owl swooped down from the nearest tree and landed on her window seal hooting. Stroking it's soft, fluffy features, Lauren secured the note to it's leg and told her 'Lily Evans', the owl hooted again to show it understood and flew out into the night, swopping elegantly to aviod the trees, it rose higher and higher until it disappeared from view. This day had been a disaster, Nick hated her, her whole family knew what her feelings for Sirius were and it was Chistmas Day tomorrow but there were more important things than presents at the moment, she peeled off her skinny jeans, Qudditch top and hoodie and slipped on her fluffy pajamas. Jumping into her comfortable, cosy bed, she rested her blushed face against the soft, soothing pillow and went to asleep almost instantly, her worries and fears soon forgotten.

A small tapping on her window woke her up, golden sunlight was pouring into her room, brightning up the room and giving it an airy feel, the warmth draping her face, she fluttered her teal eyes open and saw that Charlie's owl was tapping it's short, red, beak on the glass of her window. Slowly, she crawled out of bed, missing the warmth and comfort immediatly, and walked over to her window. A strong, freezing, winter breeze hit her in the face as she pushed it open, struggling against the strong gusts, the owl hooted and flew in, landing on her wooden desk. Closing the window carefully, Lauren crossed to where the small, tawny owl was jumping up and down excitedly, she stroked her smooth, brown feathers and untied the letter, feeling the soft, creamy parchment in her pae hands, she unraveled it and read.

Dear Lauren, Next time put that the owl bites at the beginning not the end! It's beak is really sharp and I didn't stop bleeding for ages! Is it really that bad? You'll have to tell me everything that happened when you come back and please don't go insane! If you did I'd be left with the marauders and then I'd be following you closely. Just keep me updated every day, or more frequent if you like, I hope you don't mind but I let the guys read the letter, I think Peter thinks you've gone to actual hell? You might want to set him straight when you get back, I don't know it could be quite a funny story. James, me, Remus and Sirius are worried though, if it's that bad I'm sure they'd be able to think up some plan to break you out? By the time you read this it'll probably be Christmas Day, so Merry Christmas from all of us! We're worried though, If you don't reply in a couple of days, we'll assume you'be gone insane and eaten the quill or something and we'll get straight there.

Love Lily and the marauders, although they technically didn't write any of this.

Lauren smiled at the letter, it was reassuring to know that she still had them for support, maybe she wouldn't go insane after all, grabbing her quill, ink pot and parchment, she wrote back.

Dear Lily and the marauders, Merry Christmas! I know you said you wanted the fact that the owl bites at the beginning but I felt that this was more important. I promise I'll tell you everything when I return, I've only got thirteen days left of his and then I can return to Hogwarts and be with you all! I have absoluetly no idea what time it is here, I hope you don't recieve this when you're eating your Christmas dinner and if you do, I'm sorry. On the subject of apologising, I'm sorry the owl bit you, she's Charlie's and I think he over-feeds her but then what else would you expect from any pet of his? Maybe I should write some poetry? I could write it about being trapped or in hell? Do you reckon if I bought back a rock from my fireplace and told people I went to hell they'd believe me? Maybe I should do that, just tell people I met the devil and we talked, am I insane? If I'm insane but still sane enough to know it does that make it better or worse? I think worse, at least if I was too insane to know it, I could go live in fairyland and drink tea with rabbits and cats? Anyway, I deifnetly haven't gone insane, I haven't eaten my quill yet but it is starting too look appetising, no, I'm kidding, I shouldn't even joke about that, I'm sorry. Present time, wish me luck, wait, you can't?

Love A slightly insane Lauren

CHAPTER 23: PRESENT TIME!

Making a mental note to feed the owl, Lauren tied the parchment to her leg and opened the window again, fighting against the strong gusts, the owl soared off again, elegently swooping from side to side, when Lauren couldn't see her tawny feathers any more, she shut the window and breathed deeply. Flattening her chestnut hair against her head, she grabbed the cold, metal handle and tip-toed out into the hallway. Her hands were fisted by her sides, she could hear shuffling from downstairs and wondered how was down there. Gritting her teeth, she walked down the spiralling stairs, the spongy carpet feeling soft under her feet, when she reached the living room door, Lauren clutched the metal handle and pushed the tall, oak door open. Fred and George were sitting crossed-legged on the floor by the enormous Christmas tree, the baubles were enchanted to looked like miniture snow globes floating on the branches, silver and gold tinsle was wrapped around the tree, real icicles hung from the branches, they'd used magic to make sure they didn't melt and a real fairy was sitting on top of the tree, flapping her electric blue wings and laughing, her laugh chimed exactly like a bell and sounded very similar, they looked like five year olds, picking up, rattling presents, turning them upside down, making guesses, they were so preoccupied with this, they hadn't notice Lauren walk in. "What are you guys doing?" Lauren whispered, crossing the warm, cosy room and sitting on the creamy, soft carpet inbetween them. "We're investigating, we want to find out what we've got this year, you know mum get's funny about that and makes us wait," Fred answered, his huge, chocolate eyes glinted with mischief. "You'll never find out what's inside, I reckon mum's enchanted them to take a shape the complete opposite of what they really are," Lauren told them, smiling, her teal eyes twinkling. "That's a good call, little sis, what are you doing up anyway?" George asked, picking up a present wrapped in silver paper and shaking it slowly, as if that was going to lift the charm. "I couldn't sleep," Lauren replied, shrugging, her tawny hair fell down her back like a sheet of silk. "Ah, yes, last night was very eventful, especially for Christmas eve," Fred injected, his chocolate eyes swimming with kindness. "Tell me about it, that was not how I expected it to go," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes. That seemed to be a theme for this year, things not going how she expected them to, her first week was horrible and now her Christmas eve had gone the same way. "Nick hasn't come out of his room since then, after you ran off, he stormed out moments later," Fred told her, smiling warmly.  
"We all just figured we'd give you your space and you'd work things out," George added, smiling. "Work what things out? He made it clear what he thought, there's nothing to work out," Lauren asked, her brow furrowed. "Yes, there is. You need to work out what you're going to do about him," Fred replied.  
"Isn't it clear what I'm going to do? I don't have a choice, I'm going to have to get over him and move on," Lauren explained. "After all this time, after everything he said to you last night, you're going to do what he wants?" George asked disbelief washing over his features. "What choice do I have? It's loose Sirius or loose him, not that I have Sirius exactly but you know what I mean," Lauren hissed. "You're just gonna forget about Sirius?" Fred asked, his voice loosing some of it's kindness. "Of course I'm not just gonna forget about him! You think I could just click my fingers and get over him? Trust me, that would be too easy and life doesn't like me at the moment," "Lauren, I think Sirius loves you, if you did that, I have no idea how it would effect him but I know it'd be a lot," Fred told her. "Look, I know you guys are convinced he loves me, and I have no idea whether that's true or not but can today just not be about him? Trust me, I don't need to think about him more than I already do," Lauren grimaced,"I just said that out loud, didn't I?"  
"Yep but we knew anyway," Fred told her smirking. "How? I haven't told anyone!" Lauren asked. "Your eyes kind of glaze over," "How is that different to day dreaming?"  
"You sort of smile slightly," Fred commented, the smirk growing. "I do not!" Lauren exclaimed, feeling her cheeks blush. "How would you know? You can't see your own face," George asked, smiling. "I smile?" "Slightly," "Oh, I didn't realise," "It's kind of sweet though," Fred added, smiling.  
"Anyway, what's the time?" Lauren asked trying to cool her blushed cheeks. "It's around seven, I don't know what time the others are going to be up," "I don't see why we had to come home for christmas," Lauren complained, rolling her eyes. "You'd of rather stayed at school?" George asked. "Well, yeah, to be blunt, I would've," Lauren replied,"All I've done back here is have a massive argument with Nick and embaress myself," The sound of thudding footseps interupted their conversation, they all looked towards the door, waiting and waiting, getting ready to open their presents, Mrs. Colt came through the door in an indigo nightgown surprise flitting across her face as her three youngest children we're sitting around the tree like young children, waiting for her. Raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows, she walked over to where they were. "You have to get the others up first and Lauren be careful, I'm not sure what the boys sleep in," her mum cautioned. "I will mum, I'll wake Fin and Matt," she told her brothers as she walked up the spongy carpeted stairs and along one of the many corridors, reaching her brothers room, she tapped on the door and entered. The room was a mess, dirty socks, tops and pants were thrown on her floor, the room was painted cream and two beds were placed in centre, Finnick was asleep in one, Matt was in the other, they both slept at very odd angels, Finnick twisted his torso to the left but kept his upper half straight and Matt slept completely diagonal, his face burried in the prestine, white pillows. "Matt, Fin, wake up," Lauren hissed, they didn't even stir. "Guys! Get up!" Nothing. Storming over to Matt's bed, figuring it'd be less embarassing to see him indecent that her brothers best mate, she yanked the thick douvet off of him and his eyes flickered open and he hugged himself for warmth. To Lauren's surprise he was only wearing his pants, yelping, she turned around and looked towards the door, she'd thought maybe a top and boxers but not just boxers. "Lauren! What are you doing?" Matt hissed pulling on his pajamas. "Waking you up! Why on earth do you only sleep in your boxers?!" Lauren hissed back. "You wouldn't understand, have you woken Finnick yet?" he asked. "No, I tried to wake both of you but it was useless," Lauren admitted, not daring to turn around. "Good job you didn't pull the covers off Finnick," Matt sighed. "Why?" "Because he sleeps like me," Matt told her, smiling slightly. "Oh, well can you wake him then? I don't want to see Fin like that," Lauren asked, still looking towards their door. After some shuffling, Lauren heard a groan and a help much like her own, but deeper, Finnick was awake. "What did you do that for?" Finnick asked, sounding grumpy. "Lauren wants to open her presents," Matt told him shrugging. "Lauren why have to got your back to us?" Finnick asked. "Well, I didn't realise that Matt slept pratically naked, so I pulled the covers of off him and now I'm blind," Lauren answered. Finnick laughed and after some more shuffling Finnick spoke. "Okay, we're decent," he told her, smiling. "Let's go open presents then!" she gushed, grabbing them both by their sleves and pratically dragging them down the stairs and into the warm, cosy living room where Fred, George, Charlie and her parents were. "You didn't tell me Matt sleeps pratically naked," Lauren told her mother as she dropped imbetween her and Fred. "Really? I'm sorry Lauren, maybe I should've sent Fred or George," "Nah, at least she didn't seek Finnick," "Presents!" Lauren announced, diving for a squishy parcel with shiny, silver wrapping paper and a tag from Fred and George, wrapping paper was flying everywhere, covering the spongy, soft carpet. Lauren pulled out a navy-blue top with white writing, it read 'Do you play Quidditch? Coz you're a keeper', she laughed quietly to herself before smiling at them and showing her mum, a grin stretching across her face. "What do you think, mum?" Lauren asked, smiling. "Urgh, let me guess, Fred and George?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yep," Lauren picked up a small, parcle wrapped in red, glossy paper, it was from Finnick, unwrapping it carefully, a little blue box slipped out, when she opened it, her mouth nearly fell open. It was a silver chain necklece with a pendent, the pendent was a bludger and a little wooden stick was hanging next to it. "Thanks, Fin," she called over the tearing of paper, a smilie lighting up her face. "You're welcome," he called back, smiling warmly. "More Quidditch stuff?" her mother groaned but she pretended not to hear and tuned back to her presents. Turning over a small, parcle covered in gold wrapping paper, she slipped the present out and a book bound in black leather landed with a light thud on the carpet, turning it over, the words 'Quidditch: Through The Ages' was written on it in gold writing, deciding it was best not to show her mum, she smiled at Charlie and grabbed a present from Matt. Fingering the large, squishy package in her hands, she admired the way the wrapping paper didn't have a colour but it looked more like a bubble, turning different colours depending on which angel you held it at, in what light etc. Ripping it open, a teal top fell into her lap, examining it, she turned it over and it had pictures of all the broomsticks that were in the cup. "Thanks, Matt!" she called and smiled, showing her mum the top, to which she rolled her eyes and Lauren laughed. Next, she picked up a small, perfectly square shaped parcle, it was covered in glossy, emerald wrapping paper and she checked the lable, it was from Nick, placing it back and scowling at it, she grabbed a massive present that was a perfect square too. It was covered in gleaming, ruby paper, tearing it off, a black, silky box appeared, it looked really expensive and was soft to the touch, it was from her parents. Eyeing it, she tried to remember where she'd heard that name before, muttering it to herself it clicked. "Is this from that new designer shop in Diagon Alley?" Lauren asked her mum, her teal eyes shining. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Alex wants to go there, lucky I'm not at Hogwarts," Lauren muttered and slowly opened the box, the silk slipped through her fingers and it made the tips of them tingle. Opening it up, she pulled out a long, black, silky dress, black lase enterwined around the arms where the sleves stopped and diamonds studded the neck area, looking like stars in the night sky, Lauren gawped at it, it must've cost a fortune. Fred notcied it and Lauren sent a 'help' look, it was stunning and it would look amazing on the right person but Lauren didn't feel like she was the right person, it would've fitted Alex to a T but Lauren, she was a Qudditch obsessed, bookworm who never went anywhere special enough to wear this. "Er, thanks, mum, but when am I going to wear it?" Lauren asked, servaying the beautiful dress, the silk looked like rippling water when it moved and it would sculpt any frame. "When you finally decided to act like a girl," her mum replied, smiling. "Wait! Lauren's a girl?" Fred asked tilting his head to the side and making his chocolate eyes wide. "Shut up, Fred," Lauren snapped, glaring. "Er, yeah, did you think Sirius was gay?" George asked, winking at this little sister. Grimacing, she felt blood rising to her cheeks and turned back to the tree, the emerald present from Nick was sitting there tempting her curiosity. "Lauren, you forgot one," Mrs. Colt told her, pointing to the small present. "I didn't forget it, I neglected it, there's a difference," Lauren replied, turning away. "Lauren, open it, it's Christmas," her father injected, his eyes were friendly and warm but his voice was stern. Grabbing the small package, she tore off the emerald paper and a small, emerald leather box fell out. Picking it up, she lifted the lid, trying to appear uninterested as she saw the contense but it was impossible. All the emerald, it was a clue, inside a silver ring was placed with three, small emeralds siutated on the front, it was the exact Slytherin colours, that couldn't be a coincidence. Her teal eyes glazed over as she stared at the ring, it looked expensive, he'd probably bought it before they fell out and had nothing else to give her. "What is it?" Charlie asked, his huge, chocolate eyes swimming with interest. "It's a ring," Lauren told him, not looking up. "A ring? Let's see!" Fred exclaimed and held out his hand, she gave it to him and he and George's mouthes fell open, they gazed at it as though it were some rich treaure, as though it were the most precious thing to them in the world. "Woah, it's really pretty," George commented, his eyes glazing over and looking like glass. Fred handed it back, Lauren's pale hand brushing his slightly, his hand was warm where as hers was freezing. Snapping the box shut, she looked at her other family members who were dicussing their presents. "I think breakfast!" Mrs Colt exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. "Yes, I'm starving!" Lauren told her, smiling. "Me too!" Charlie added, jumping up instantly. "Well, there's a change," George commented sarcastically. "Let's go to the kitchen, then," Mrs. Colt gused, ushering her children, Finnick and her husband into the kitchen. "Er, I'll be right there mum, I just need to check something,"

CHAPTER 24: AN AWKWARD CHIRSTMAS

Lauren creeped up the stairs, along the first corridor and stopped outside of Nick's room, the portraites on the wall were starting to stir, making her chances of surprise basically nil. She didn't know what posessed her to do this but it was Christmas and, as cringy as it is, he was her family and it's a time of bringing families together, she couldn't celebrate with one family member missing, that was like trying to complete a puzzle with a piece missing; it was pointless. She tapped on the wooden door lightly, hoping he wouldn't hear and she could say she'd tried but no such luck, to her disappointment he'd heard perfectly. "For the last time mum, I don't want-" "It's not mum," Lauren told him, trying to keep her voice even and smooth. "What do you want?" Nick snapped, his voice full of anger and hatred, Lauren felt tears weilling in her eyes, he'd never talked to her like that before, they'd always been close, never fought or even disagreed on anything. "I want you to stop acting like a sulking child and celebrate Christmas with your family because, whether you like it or not, we're bound by blood. Even if you don't do it for me, which I doubt you will, then do it for mum, if Christmas is ruined, it's going to be all our fault and, I don't know about you, but I don't want that on my consence," Lauren snapped back, she'd never even raised her voice to Nick before, there was no need, and now she was pratically shouting through his door. Silence greeted her, that meant he was at least considering it, the silence dragged and dragged. Lauren just stood there awkwardly outside his tall, oak door, her left leg bent forward, twirling strands of chestnut hair around her pale finger sub consiously. She had turned around and was just about to accept defeat when the sound of the door clicking got her attention. Spinning round, her tawny hair flying out behind her like a sheet of silk, she saw Nick's tall, muscular figure appear in the door way, he had indigo circles underlining his eyes and his skin was paler than normal, she smiled at him, not sure what to expect back. A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips, then it fell back into it's natural line, glad that she'd got everyone together for Christmas, Lauren padded back down the soft, carpeted stairs with Nick following closely behind. They didn't talk the whole way, Lauren smiled at the moving portraites and kept her teal eyes glued to the ground, occasionally she would glance back but Nick would scowl at her and she would carrying on like nothing happened. "Thanks, for the present," Lauren said as the neared the kitchen doors, she smiled again, a genuine smile.  
"Hmm," Nick replied bluntly, Lauren pushed the kitchen doors open and saw her family gathered around the glass table. "Lauren! We were wondering where you'd gone to! Mum said we couldn't eat until you-" Charlie stopped mid sentence as Nick walked in and his face hardened into a scowl. "Nick! I didn't think you were going to join us!" his mum gushed, her teal eyes sweilling with happiness. "Changed my mind," Nick grunted taking a seat next to his father, Lauren was unsure whether to sit in the free chair next to him but one death glare and she'd been turned off completely, instead she opted for a seat next to Finnick. "Now, what does everyone want for breakfast?" Mrs. Colt gushed when they'd all sat down. "Why don't you cook scrambled eggs and hashbrows for all of us?" Lauren asked, smiling. "Okay, how many hashbrowns do you want, Lauren?" "Can I have six?" "You're gonna have eggs as well," "I'm hungry though!" Lauren whined, rubbing her stomach. "Okay, I'll do six for you, six for Charlie and everyone else can have three," Mrs. Colt waved her wand and a packet of hashbrowns zoomed out of the freezer, the bag tipped the right ammount into the frying pan and cealed itself again, poping back into the freezer. The eggs were cracking themselves on the side of the glass jug, while Mrs. Colt busied herself around the kitchen.  
"Merlin! If you ever mary Sirius-" Fred started but Lauren cleared her throat loudly and glanced at Nick, who was staring at the ground. "Did you not get much sleep last night, Nick?" Lauren's dad asked, he was the only one who wanted to make conversation with him, everyone just had conversations in twos or threes. "Not really," he replied bluntly. Lauren rolled her eyes at him, not in the jokey way she would roll them at Sirius, but icily, she hated how Nick was acting, he couldn't even reply kindly. "Lauren, who are the HG Qudditch team?" Finnick asked her, flecks of curiousity in his warm eyes. "They're a smaller league one like the TT, I think we played them once, it's hard to remember, too many broken noses, why?" Lauren aksed, smiling warmly. "Well, there's this girl-" "Who he fancies the pants off!" Matt injected, Finnick's cheeks went slightly pink and he averted his gaze. "Does she play for them?" Lauren asked, ignoring Matt. "Yeah, we were talking about it and I don't know the smaller league teams," Finnick replied, relief flooding his face. "What position?" "She said she was their seeker," Finnick told her, smiling shyly. "Awh, I might see her next summer, I'll keep an eye out," Lauren promsied. Mrs. Colt sat a huge, white plate down in front of her, it was decorated with tiny flowers around the edge, six hashbrowns were piled on it and fluffy, light scrambled egg filled the rest of the plate. The egg felt light, the flavours danced on her tongue, spreading around her whole mouth, the hashbrowns slipped down the throat accompained by gulps of warming tea. Wolfing down her food, the fork barely touched her lips, it was continuous mouthfulls, it was still hot and burnt slightly but it tasted amazing as it slipped down her throat, warming her. The different textures and flavours danced on her tongue and swirled around her mouth, each mouthful tasting better than the last, each one warming her a little bit more, sliding down easier. "Anybway, whatbt were youb sayinbg?" Lauren asked through mouthfuls of delicious fluffy eggs, her mother hit her hard on her arm and a fierce frown was planted on her face. "Don't speak with your mouth full! Honestly, I did raise you with manners, it would be nice to see you using them once in a while. It's like having another boy," She sighed, flicked her wand and cooked more hashbrowns, they warm scent of sizzling potato and cooking eggs filled the whole room. "Sorry, mum. Anyway, what were you saying Fin?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes trained on him. "Yeah, she's a seeker and I was wondering if you've ever played against her?" Finnick repied, smiling. "I probably have but I'm more focused on the beaters than seekers, I have to watch for bludgers being thrown at my head," Lauren told him, knitting her eyebrows together in thought.  
"Apparently not that well because you always break your nose!" her mum injected. "Anyway, maybe you should ask her to a Qudditch match?" Lauren suggested, smiling warmly. "What? I don't fancy her or anything!" Finnick stammered, his cheeks glowing crimson. "You do! Come off it, Finnick, it's completely obvious," Matt teased, a smirk pulling at his lips. "I don't fancy her! I just think she's very pretty and it's cool that she's a seeker," Finnick stumbled, his cheeks going deeper red. "Shame she's not a keeper," Matt said and nudged him. "That's exceptable on a top, not at a table or at any social event. Ever," Lauren told him, putting emphasis on the 'ever'. "Yeah, it was pretty bad but I had to," "Lauren?" "No Charlie, I don't have any food left," "I wasn't gonna ask that, have you been using my owl?" Charlie asked her. "What? Oh, yeah, I thought you wouldn't mind," Lauren shrugged. "I don't, it's pratically both of ours anyway but who have you been sending letters to?" he asked, his eyebrows narrowing. "To Lily," Lauren replied and smiled. "Are you sure?" "Am I sure I know who I'm sending letters to? Yeah, I'm pretty sure, Charlie," "You haven't been sending them to anyone else at Hogwarts?" Charlie asked, his warm eyes full of interest. "No, I've just been sending them to Lily, she told me to write to her as soon as I got home," Lauren lied, smiling. "Remember to feed her as soon as she gets back this time," "Yeah, Charlie, I think you over-feed her," Lauren admitted. "No, she's perfectly healthy," he told her and turned back to his conversation. "Fin, you should ask her out if you like her," Lauren told him. "But what if she says no?" "Merlin! Weren't you in Gryffindor?! Sometimes I think boys are more scared than girls!" "Yeah but I have to see her pratically everyday, it'll be awkward," Finnick said, look dejected. "Fin, she might say yes and if she gets weird just say you meant it as friends," Lauren told him, rolling her eyes. "Lauren, you would make an amazing boy!" Finnick gushed, hugging her tightly. "Fin...can't ...breath," she chocked. "Sorry, I'll ask her soon," Finnick told her and beamed.  
"Finnick's got a girlfriend," Matt teased, poking him in the ribs. "I don't!" He exclaimed blushing. "Finnick and Lauren," Matt teased. "What?! I do not!" Lauren shouted, feeling the blood rise to her cheeks.

The rest of that morning passed quickly, Finnick, Matt and Lauren were deep in conversation about Qudditch and the smaller leagues, Lauren knew all about those since she was in one herself. Charlie was talking to Fred and George, they were whipsering frantically and hissing incomprehensible words, Lauren tried to strain her ear a couple of times but it was no use; she simply couldn't work out what they were talking about, she thought she'd caught her name once but she put that down to paranoia. Nick was skluking around, not really belonging anywhere, she'd always managed to sit whever Lauren wasn't, he made the most effort with his parents but even then he only grunted occasionally or gave one word answeres. Christmas Day had been a disappointment just like the term before it, nothing seemed to be meeting her expectations anymore, it all seemed dull and boring, Lauren was secretly hoping Lily would write back soon. Her mother was cooking the dinner, she was bustling anyone out who even attempted to walk in and she completely lost it when Lauren walked in to get a drink. She started shouting about how inconcederate she was, how ignorent and how she didn't appreciate the work load, it got even worse when she'd offered to help, she started ranting about Lauren's lack of skills in the kithchen and how she could never pull off food like this. Lauren just let the insults slide, she knew when you argue and when to keep her mouth shut and this was one of those very rare occasions when she decided that with everything that as going on, Nick being blunt, Fred and George pranking everyone in the house, except their mum, and Lauren 'causing trouble', she should keep her mouth shut. Of all the times when she was sat in History of Magic or a boring DADA lesson and thought that she wanted to go home, she had no idea how wrong she was, home was a mental place, it was normally welcoming and cosy and she loved being here, there was never a moment of silence and that's how she liked it but since her argument with Nick, the only people that weren't made at him were his parents, the mood turned frosty the minute he walked anywhere and his blunt answers didn't help matters, it didn't feel cosy anymore, it felt awkward, it felt like their house was made of ice. They day she'd left for Kings Cross Station had been the best day that involved school so far, everyone had been friendly, there was no awkward silence, no frostyness, nothing that hinted at any resentment but then Nick sent the letter, Lauren realised and Fred and George became the protective ones, everything had changed. Everything had messed up this year, not just at home but at school too, she now felt things for Sirius, sure she'd made up with Pansy and her gang eventually but there had been that, Rue and Alex had got boyfriends and Lauren was the odd one out again, she wouldn't date Alex, she couldn't, what she felt for Sirius was too strong. Lauren never knew that fancing someone who didn't like you in that way back could feel like this, she'd never really crushed on anyone, Finnick but that was a silly crush, she had not idea what she was doing and she made a hate poster of everyone that worked with him, Lauren didn't want to date him, it was more of a really unhealthy obsession. Growing up was the worst thing in the world, this was the year when boys started noticing girls and vise versa, it was that year when they got to an age where most girls dated guys, just to try it, just to learn from their mistakes, the only thing that Lauren had learnt was that basically every girl in Hogwarts thought Sirius was hot and that life really wasn't fair. Sure, Sirius' stormy grey eyes pulled you in, his features looked carved and angelic, his angular jaw looked chistled and his black hair framed his face perfectly, he managed to be tall and lanky but muscular and toned at the same time, but Lauren had seen hotter people, no that was a lie, she actually hadn't. Lauren had never realised how perfect he was before, she'd overlooked it because he was her best friend but every other guys she compared him to seemed dull and boring, she thought Alex was alright looking, but up against Sirius, he could even be called ugly. How could one guy be so perfect? Lauren asked herself why she couldn't choose someone average looking, someone who she actually had a chance with, she guessed their was always her dreams where she was good enough, pretty enough, smart enough for him but dreams were dreams and reality hit, hard.

CHAPTER 25: LETTERS

"DINNER!" Mrs. Colt yelled to the whole house, Lauren stood up from the corner she was crouched in and began to walk towards the kitchen, she was made to sprint when a voice called. "EBONY LAUREN NILA COLT!" It was Charlie's voice, he sounded angry, really angry, she sprinted through the house and burst into the kithchen, stumbling slightly as the door didn't need quite as much force as she applied. "What's this?" Charlie asked pointing to a brown envelope in his hand, the black scrawl definetly wasn't Lily's so she didn't see why it concerned her. "A letter," Lauren answered, confusion flittering across her face. "I thought you said you were only writing to one person at Hogwarts," he challenged, a black eyebrow cocked. "I am and that's not Lily's writing, whose it for?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes shining. "It's for you," Charlie told her, a smile playing on his lips. "But I didn't write to anyone?" Lauren phrased it like a question but it didn't need an answer. "Recognise the writing?" Charlie held the brown envelope about a centmeter from her face, pushing it back, she examined the scrawl and recognised it immediatly. Sirius. "I don't think so," she lied, pretending to look closer. "Well, then you won't mind if I open it," Charlie told her, a smirk pulling at his mouth. He knew. Sighing, she admitted defeat. "Fine, it Sirius's writing," Lauren admitted, lowering her eyes to the ground. "I'm still opening it," Charlie said, sliding his index finger underneath the flap. "No! It's for me!" Lauren yelled, grabbing for the parchment that he was holding high above his head. Charlie simply laughed. "You can have that one, I think it's from Lily," "I want both of them since they are adresssed to me!" Lauren exclaimed, making another grab. "CHARLIE, LAUREN, SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Mrs. Colt sreeched,"YOU CAN LOOK AT THE LETTERS AFTER DINNER, PUT THEM BACK ON THE SIDE!" Grumpily, Lauren took a seat at the glass dinner table, the brown, leather chair sinking slightly as Lauren sat on it, Charlie was smirking at her from across the table, he was closer and he would get their first. Their dinners were det down in front of them, traditional Christmas Dinner, meat and vegetables, a meat alternative for Lauren as she didn't like the taste of meat, and she begun tucking in immedately, not worrying about how it was burning her mouth, tongue and throat as it slid down. Barely tasting it, she shoved spoonful upon spoonful of dinner into her mouth, chewing it three times maximum, she had to get there before Charlie or he would read her letter out to everyone and Lauren was unsure as to what he had written. A smile flittered across her lips as she throught of Sirius taking the time to write to her, It wouldn't have taken longer but it's the thought. She suddenly felt very guilty as she hadn't thought to write to him to wish him a Merry Christmas, guilt washed over her like waves over the sand, not waiting any longer, she spooned down the last of the peas on her place and fixed her teal eyes on her mother, making them huge and epectant. She only had to stay like this for about thirty seconds before her mum cracked. "Lauren, go read your letters," She snapped after meeting her eyes for the fifth time. "Okay," Lauren got up and walked over to the wooden cabinate where her letters were sprawled, petting the owl, she picked up Sirius's first and read.

To Lauren,  
Peter thinks you're in actual hell and he said you're bringing back some rock or something from there? I'm really confused, I don't think you're in hell but Peter insists that you said you were, if you are that's cool but come back, we have tests and stuff, you know, don't wanna miss those. I hope you're okay, wherever you are, It's pretty boring here, we've been to Hogsmead already, there's only so much you can buy in Honeydukes, although I'm worried about Remus, is chocolate a drug? Because he's found hiding places to stop the rest of us eating it, is that normal? I'm not sure it is but you basically know everything. I'm sure the holidays will go really quickly and you'll be back at Hogwarts in no time. I think the others miss you, I know Lily does, I don't think you're the only one going insane, she keeps snapping at us and it's really scary, her eyes do this flairy-thing and it scares me so much. Is that normal? Can eyes flare like acidic green? She keeps going into massive rants about how we're not as clever as you, how we're no where near as mature and something about how we're pathetic in classes? I don't know, she has major freak outs, you should probably sort that out when you get back. Maybe you should come back early? I mean you have Peter and Lily to sort out and I have a feeling Peter's going to take extra convincing, maybe we should just tell him you did, it might be easier? Everyones like falling apart without you, not me, I'm fine, but Peter and Lily and I think Remus is addicted to chocolate or something? Is that even possible? And why isn't he really fat? I don't know, you can normally explain stuff like that, I'll leave it to you. Could you even send letters in hell? I hope you're having a good Christmas dinner, write back and tell me what presents you got. I have your present by the way, I forgot to give to you before you left, I was sleeping. We got yours, that was ingenuis putting an invisibility charm on them, until Peter tripped over his and got really freaked out by it but it all made sense this morning when they all appeared, although it was a bit freaky and I think Peter broke something, something In the room I mean, not a bone or anything. I liked my wooden carving, did you make them? I don't think you did but Peter's convinced but then if we listened to him you'd be in hell. It was a dog, right? We had planned to give you yours yesterday but we were sleeping. I think Remus got you chocolate but he must've eaten it? Do you reckon he showers in melted chocolate rather than water? Malfoy's alone, just thought I'd put that out there. This is the longest thing I've ever written, even my essays have been shorter than this, be pleased. Not about the short essays, coz I know you'll kill me for that but the length. Yeah, so I'll see you soon, I guess. Good luck. Come back. for the tests, you know.  
From Sirius p.s stay alive and I hear hell's really hot? Your winter clothes might not work.

Lauren smiled at the letter, folded it up again and slotted it back into the envelope. She picked up Lily's letter, slid her index finger under the flap and unfloded the letter.

Dear Lauren,  
Merry Christmas! I miss you so much, please come back soon! I've only had to put up with the marauders for a day and I'm going mental, help me! Plus, Sirius said I do this weird flarey-thing with my eyes? I don't know if he mentioned it in his letter? I don't do it, he's lying! He told me they go acidic green! Peter's convinced you're in hell? He keeps asking how you're going to climb out because apparently there's seven levels and you need to complete them to come back up? Whatever his parents are telling him, I'm scared. They all creep me out, Sirius does this paedo smile whenever I'm around, I'm worried, he's too good at it, we should watch him on the weekends! James is being a pratt as usual, no change there, Remus is addicted to chocolate, you, may or may not know that depending on whose letter you open first. I got the cutest present from James, it was a little charm bracelet with a silver lily on it, it was actually quite thoughtful for him. I'm sorry that I forgot to give you your Christmas present, you have to tell me everything you got! I bet you opened Sirius' letter first didn't you? Only write to one of us about everything you got, otherwise it's gonna get really confusing! Everyone misses you, especiallly me, I need you Lauren! I can feel my sanity slowly slipping away, I tried to spell parcel with an 's' this morning! Please stay sain, if you got mental, who will keep my sanity? I'm going to be physically dead inside, they laugh all the time, I can't keep up, I don't get the jokes?! Merlin! I loved your present, the carved lily was amazing! See you soon!  
Love Lily

Shoving both of the letters into her pocket, she returned to her seat at the dinnertable. The leather squeaked as she slid down it into a comfortable position, keeping her teal eyes glude to the table, she ran her fingers along the soft parchment. "What do they say?" Charlie asked his big, brown eyes inquizitive. "They just said that they liked my presents and asked me what I got for Christmas," Lauren shrugged. "So, you'll need to write later?" Charlie asked. "Well, yeah, I suppose," Lauren replied, she hadn't really thought about replying, she was still happy that Sirius had sent her a letter. "I'm not letting you use my owl until you let me read them,"he told her, smirking. "I thought you said the owl was pratically mine as well?" Lauren challenged, her eyebrows raised. "I did but-"  
"Perfect! I'm going to write some letters than," Lauren left the table, scooped up the tawn owl, that nipped playfully at her finger, and she walked up stairs. The portraites greeted her as she passed, waving and smiling, she walked to the tall, wooden door leading to her room, grabbed the cool, metal handle and flicked. Her room was as messy as always, socks, shoes and the occasional glove littered the floor, her school books were scattered everywhere and the storm clouds outside gave the room an errie, dullness that dimmed the vivid colours and made everything look gloomy. Sitting at her wooden, oak desk, she pulled out some parchment, her eagle feather quill and her crystal pots of ink, she placed the scrumbled letters on it and ironed them out against the wood. The feeling that Sirius had wrote to her flooded though her once more and she felt happy, she was smiling at the creamy parchment and she placed the owl on her window seal.

Dear Sirius, Let's get one thing straight, I used hell as a metaphor, I didn't mean I was actually in hell. Then Peter's telling me that to return I have to go through seven levels or something? Anyway, Merry Christmas, you forgot to put that in your previous letter. Addictions to chocolate can happen but they're very rare, I doubt he's got one, he just doesn't want his eaten by people like you who have bottomless stomachs. No, I don't think he showers in melted chocolate instead of water and I really didn't need that image in my head, thanks. Lily doesn't think she does that thing with her eyes, It is possible that they turn acidic green but she must've been very angry and don't give her a hard time with that paedo face, I think you already creep her out enough. Remember that she's not a boy, she won't find the same things funny that you do, try to make an effort. Tell Remus to lay off the chocolate, tell Peter to study page 439 in his potions text book, keep Lily safe and sane for me, please and tell James his Christmas present to Lily was very sweet. Reading your letter back, most of it was about Remus and chocolate, I'm worried that you're too fixated. I wish I was there with you guys, we could go into Hogsmead again but it'd be fun! Yeah! Your present was a dog, James' was a deer, Peters' was a rabbit and Lupins' was a chocolate bar and no, I didn't carve them myself, where does Peter get his ideas from? I got a dress from my mum, Qudditch tops, a necklace from Fin, a book about Qudditch, a ring, more things that I can't remember, tell Lily I wrote it in this letter. What did you guys get? I miss you guys all so much, it's horrible here, I've fought with my eldest brother, he hates me, he hates the whole family, especially me. He won't even talk to me anymore, the worst part is, I don't even know what I did? Anyway, I'm very pleased that this is the longest thing you've ever written but you should try harder on your essays, *rolls eyes at you*, Also, watch your spelling and grammar. I'll hopefully see you guys soon. Love Lauren

Gliding her teal eyes over her writing, she decided it was good enough and folded the parchment. Stuffing it into a brown, rough envelope, she wrote his name on the front and tied it to the owls leg, she was hooting happily, being fed, she was ready to go. Storking her soft, fluffy feathers, she took out another piece of parchment and started her letter to Lily.

Dear Lily, The list of my presents are in Sirius's letter as I did open his first, in my defence the writing confused me, I thought your hand had started having spasms. Don't tell him I said that or he'll kill me! No, his writing can be nice, tell him to put more effort into my letters, it's just rude. Anyway, I've informed Sirius that your eyes don't turn acidic green and I think he's going to stop smiling at your weirdly. I'm not following somebody around at weekends, that doesn't make us any better. I'm glad you liked your Christmas present, took me ages to find one of a chocolate bar! Refering to Sirius's letter again, I also explained that hell was a metaphor for the situation I'm in, it doesn't mean I'm chilling with the devil or that I have to complete the seven levels to get back up. Peter scares me sometimes, I don't know where he gets his ideas from. Also, keep an eye on Sirius for me? I think he's a but fixated with Remus and chocolate, he asked me if I though he bathed in it melted, how am I even suppose to reply to that? The present that James got you sounds really cute, I can't wait to see it when I get to Hogwarts, I wanna be there with you guys so bad! My eldest brother, you know Nick?, he hates me, he hates all of us but especially me and he's not talking, he's being blunt if he does talk and the only people he's okay with are my parents. I miss you all so much, especially you, I need someome interlligent to talk to and it can't keep being myself, I joke, but I do miss you! Keep coping and I'll be there in twelve days, I'm counting down! Love Lauren

Sighing, she tied that letter to the owl's other leg and carried her over to the window, a strong, icy wind whipped Lauren's face as she struggled to keep the window open. Thrusting the owl out, the tawny bird flew higher and higher until it was a tiny, brown spek in the vast darkness. She really did miss her friends, she missed Sirius, she missed his breath taking eyes, angelic, carved features and his angualr jaw, his cocky attitude, she thought it would take everything she had not to kiss him when she saw him. Sighing again, she slid down the side of her bed and sat on the fluffy, smooth carpet holding her head in her hands. Dreaming about his stormy eyes, warm, scented breath, angular jaw and angelic features weren't the same as seeing them in person, they were far more impressive in person, they made much more of an impact, he appeared much more attractive in person, which seemed impossible, but it was the truth. She felt like she hadn't seen him in years, she missed every crevice and crease in his face which she knew so well, his piercing gaze that were as strong as the imperus curse, the floppy, black hair that he would sweep to the side, his cocky smirk that made her stomach flutter and her arrogant attitude that made her palms sweat and her heart race. She didn't know what she felt towards him, she fancied him but it was more than that, deeper, she couldn't be in love, that term was used to freely, she wouldn't expereince 'love' until she was older, she didn't even know what love was. But it felt like love, something stronger than a crush, he was perfect, he was eveything she wanted, maybe she did love him, maybe she didn't, it was unimportant. The hardest part would come when he got a girlfriend, watching those stormy eyes mist for someone else, watching him caress some other girls cheek and twirl her perfect hair around his finger and then she could watch his features drape in moonlight. Lauren's eyes began to sting, they prickled, water started to gather under them, a salty liquid, she grabbed the nearest thing to her, which luckily was a pillow, and threw with with every once of strengh she could muster, It hit the door and it only rattled slightly. Maybe she'd have to watch him kissing some other girl at the Gryffindor table, maybe she'd sit on his lap and Lauren would have to watch from the Slytherin table, watch while jealously pranged her stomach and ate away at her patience, maybe she'd have to watch him make her happy, while Lauren watched on miserably. Maybe that was her fait, her destiny to have to watch while the boy she loved fall in love with someone else, someone who wasn't her, someone prettier, someone funnier, smarter, skinnear, falwless, someone perfect, in essence, someone who wasn't her. Maybe that's all the future held for her pain and torture as she watched the person she loved in the arms of another girl, she would rather have the crucio curse put on her that watch that, it would be the same pain, the same agonising pain, it's just one of them was physical and one of them was emotional. Lauren didn't want to admit she was in love, the concept scared her, the pain that she could feel from it, but he was constantly on her mind, storm clouds reminded her of his eyes, when someone smirked only one name came into her head, their was only one prankster for her, the only one that shot into her head, she could see how Nick and Sirius were basically similar, she just hoped that Sirius would never hurt her the way Nick hurt his girlfriend or the way Nick had hurt Lauren, they were both players, both were attractive, they could've been the same person. She needed to know whether she was in love with him and there was only one person who could tell her. Standing up, she whiped away her tears and walked out of the room, she followed the corrdiors until she reached the familiar room, she didn't want to have to do this but she had no choice. She tapped lightly on the tall wooden door and waited. "What?" Nick snapped, his voice harsh and curt. "It's me, we need to talk," Lauren told him, her voice kind and friendly. "About what, exactly?" he spat, his voice a little kinder, which wasn't say much. "Love," Lauren answered, a few seconds later the door swung open and Nick was standing there looking gloomy and angry. "Come in, then," he grunted, closing the door behind them. His room was basically the same to hers, except the walls were cream, his bed was in the same place but there were strange objects and things in jars dotted around, Lauren guessed they were confiscated items. "May I?" She asked kindly, pointing to the floor. "Yeah, I suppose," Nick sighed, sitting on his bed, Lauren plopped down on the fluffy carpet "I need to talk to you about Rebecca," Lauren announced, allowing her voice to go as loud as possible. "How do you know about that?" Nick asked, a shocked look crossing his face. "Professor Silas told me, I asked him what you were like at school and now I know the real reason you don't like Sirius," "Okay, tell me why you think," Nick told her, his voice kind and gentil. "Because you were exactly like him at school, you were the player, the one that got all of the girls, that broke their hearts like plates, then you fell in love. Rebecca, she was incredbly studious, she'd never had a detention in her life and something attracted you to her, maybe it was her brains or her golden attiutude I have no idea, that sounds like me. You don't like the idea of me and Sirius together because you're comparing us to you and her. You broke her heart, by kissing her bestfriend I believe, and you're convinced Sirius will do the same to me. You couldn't explain this to our family because they think it was mutual, so you made up that it was because his carried the surname Black, made up reasons to hate them, it all fitted perfectly. Except, you expected mum to agree with you, to hate the Black family too but she didn't and I think you heard the night she gave me permisson to date him and you couldn't have that. All this time you've been moody and sulky, it was an act. You don't care about his last name, you'd probably enjoy watching his mothers face when he told her we were dating, you cared about Rebecca, you broke her heart and you saw what it did, she didn't forgive you when it had been well over a year, you were protecting me from that, not from Sirius himself," Lauren told him, her teal eyes glazing over. "I'd never of expected you to work it out that quick, you truely are as smart as she was. You're completely right, I've met Sirius, he's a nice boy, I never actually thought he was a dark wizard, I am truely sorry for everything I've said," Nick apologised, sounding like his old self again. "You should've just told me the truth, I would've understood," Lauren replied, smiling. "You wouldn't of listened though, you would've gone blundering up and snogged him if I hadn't of been cruel," "Maybe not snogged him...I would've told him," Lauren admitted, blushing a little. "That's why I did what I did," "Nick," her voice was soft,"that letter really hurt me." "I know, Ebony. I am truely sorry for what I did but you have to understand! I hated myself for doing that to her, I despised everything I was when those tears trickled down her cheeks. She never spoke to me again! Imagine, you've hurt someone so much, betrayed their trust to an unforgivable point where they don't talk to you ever again. Imagine if Sirius did that to you! You think I could just sit here and watch that happen for the second time in my life?" Nick asked, tears brimming in his huge, chocolate eyes. "I never," she cleared her throat,"I didn't realise." "I hate myself even more than before for hurting you and I can't express how sorry I am for as long as I live but please, please believe me," His tone was pleading. "I do," Lauren whispered, his head shot up,"I do believe you Nick," "Thank you. Ebony-"  
"Lauren," she corrected, smiling. "You'll always be Ebony to me." "I know," Lauren sighed, smiling. "Let's go tell the family the truth, what they should've been told in the first place," Nick told her, pulling her by the hand down the spiralling stairs and into the living room, where he recieved many glares. "I understand why you all hate me but it was an act, I don't hate Sirius and I don't hate the Black name and I will tell you everything if you're willing to listen," Nick told them, his voice kind and gentil again. "Yeah, we'll listen," Fred told him. "It all started when I was at school, believe it or not I was exactly like Sirius, I played girls, broke their hearts and dated most of the people in most of the years, we were trouble makers, me and Silas plus two other boys. I'd must've dated half of the girls at Hogwarts by my fourth year and then, as cliche as it is, I fell in love. For the younger ones of you," he turned to Lauren and winked,"her name was Rebecca, we dated for two years, to this day I have no idea what she saw in me. She was studious, very clever, pretty and basically a goldem girl, remind you of anyone?" Nick asked. "Lauren," Fred replied. "Exactly, I saw myself in Sirius and I saw Rebecca in Lauren. I lied to you all though, I told you it was a mutual break up, both of us deciding that it wasn't working but it wasn't. I am afraid to say that in sixth year I kissed her best friend in a broom closet," "You what?" Mrs. Colt shrieked. "You kissed her best mate?" Matt asked, disbelief washing over his face. "Indeed, we agreed, the two girls, Silas and me to keep it a secret, It had been over a year when I went to wish her luck, she was going to train dragons in Romania, I thought maybe we had put it behind us but that day she was as cold to me as the day she caught me-"  
"Woah, she caught you doing it in the broom cupboard?!" George asked, Nick laughed. "We were only kissing, you wouldn't of dared to do something like that at that time. Anyway, I had broken her heart, it still hadn't mended after over a year, seeing myself in Mr Black, I assumed he would do the same to Lauren, I applied our lives too much. I fabricated the story about hating the Black surname, my mistake was I'd assumed mum would agree with me but she didn't and I heard them talking that night when she told Lauren she could date him if she wanted, I had to act fast, I wrote the letter knowing that nothing else would stop her and then I pretended to be a jerk until now," Nick explained. "Why'd you tell us now?" Charlie asked. "Ah, another thing I hadn't counted on, Lauren worked it out," He told them. "So this whole time, all the names, the letter, it was all fake?" George asked, his mouth hanging open slightly.  
"Yes, everything I said or did from the point when I sent that letter was lies or acting," Nick confirmed. "Man, you are a good actor," Charlie said, smiling. "Thank you, but my plan failed," he turned to Lauren who was straring off into space, her eyes glazed over. Rolling his eyes, Nick clicked his fingers and she snapped out of it. "Huh?" she asked, looking slightly lost. "We were just saying how you ruined my plan," Nick told her, smiling. "I had help, when I told my friends, one of them called Rue said that it reminded her of me and Sirius, I just pieced it together," Lauren admitted, smiling. "The resmblence is actually scary," Nick commented, smiling at his little sister. "Thanks,"

That night Lauren found herself writing another letter to the marauders and Lily, she didn't want to explain everything that had happened in case Sirius read it, which he probably would considering it was addressed to all of them, she got out her eagle quill, ink pot and the last piece of parchment she would use for letters and wrote...

Dear Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter,  
Scrap every other letter that I've sent from here to Hogwarts, I actually found out that my brother doesn't hate me, I'll tell Lily all about it when I get back. I discovered that I was far from hell here, I'm actually having a really good time now and I don't have to climb seven floors to the surface, which is always good, I found out that the person who appeared to hate me the most was protecting me more than anyone else or anything, this probably isn't going to make much sense to you but I promise I haven't gone mental, I'll explain to Lily and you guys will just have to be confused for the rest of your lives. The only two things that haven't changed are that I still miss you guys! It's only twelve days and I have a feeling their going to fly by. The second thing that hasn't changed is I'm still certain Remus doesn't bathe in melted chocolate, that would just be weird. Well, I'll see you guys very soon and we can swap Christmas stories, I have a feeling mine are going to be the best. Love Lauren

CHAPTER 26: A GOOD CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL

As she tied it onto the owls leg, she secretly wished goodbye to the contact with Sirius, twelve days was only a small time to wait and let's face it, his stormy eyes were worth it. Thrusting it out into the night, she said goodbye to the owl and climbed into bed, feeling good about the rest of the holidays. Order had returned, everything was how it was suppose to be now, Nick was the most protective again, George and Fred were back to acting like pratts and Charlie, Matt and Finnick were just tagging along. Lauren was right about the week flying past, twleve days seemed like twelve hours, one minute she was writing to her friends saying that she only had twleve days and she missed them, the next her mum was yelling at her to hurry up or they'd be late. "Coming mum!" she called downstairs, she was secretly looking at her reflection, she put her hair into a side bun and plaited the fringe again, just like she had before, she was becoming a lot more self concious and she hated it. Her body would automatically pick out nay bits that weren't perfect and point them out, that happened to be a lot of points on Lauren, one last glance in the mirror and she turned around to yank her trunk to the car, she was struggling to get it down the stairs, it seemed loads heavier than before. "No, I'm fine, we've got six men in this house but don't worry about me, I'm fine," she snapped, dumping her case on the wooden flooring and panting. Lauren was about to pick it up again when Nick's hand shot out of no where and started lugging it to the car, Lauren followed closely behind, her material school bag slung over her shoulder and an icy wind hitting her face as she made her way to the car. "Why are you coming, Nick?" Lauren asked, her eyebrows furrowed. "Because I want to wave goodbye to my little sister, is that such a crime?" Nick responded. "He stayed at Hogwarts," Lauren told him as they all jumped into the car. "Damnit!" Nick hissed, Lauren simply laughed. "Lauren, your hair looks nice," her mum compliemnted. "Oh, er, thanks," Lauren replied, touching it self consiously and staring out of the window. "It does, got anyone to impress, Lauren?" Nick teased, smirking as a blush appeared on her cheeks. "Yes, actually," The three boys turned to stare at her,"Professor Silas! I don't know how you got all the girls Nick," "Ew! Lauren, he's like twenty-one!" Fred hissed "So? It's only seven years difference!" Lauren retorted, smiling. "Lauren, be nice, I think Nick will have a heart attack, he's only just okay with Sirius," George whispered, smiling. "I'm not even kidding, he is quite hot," Lauren turned to face them, a serious look on her face. "Please tell me your joking," Nick pleaded. "Mum! Professor Silas?" "Oh! Lovely looking lad," Mrs. Colt replied. "See? Don't worry, he has a girlfriend," Lauren told them. "Er, Lauren I don't think he does," Nick told her. "Why not?" Lauren asked. "Because girlfriend would be the wrong term, boyfriend would be correct," Nick told her. "He's gay?!" Lauren gasped. "Did he tell you he had a girlfriend?" Fred asked, amused. "He.."Lauren thought for a moment and grimaced,"I just assumed, he said he was in a realtionship," She looked really disappionted. "That's why you don't assume," Mrs. Colt told her daughter. "Alex just thought maybe if he spilt up from his girlfriend, she might have a slim shot, wait till I tell her she's the wrong gender," Lauren hissed. "That's why I got all of the girls, he didn't like them," Nick explained as the car drew into the station carpark. "Urgh! He's so hot though," Lauren groaned as she pulled her huge, brown trunk out of the boot and placed it on the pavement. Fred and George did the same and them, Mrs. Colt and Nick walked through the brick wall barier and onto the platform. Two girls were already waiting for her, one was a tanned girl with tightly curled, black hair and huge brown eyes, the other was a tall-ish girl with blond, ringleted hair and sky blue eyes. Lauren waved to them, signalling for them to walk over. "This is Rue and that's Alex," she told her brothers and her mum. "You're the one that fancies Silas?" Nick asked, grining slightly. "Yeah, why?" Alex asked. "You're the wrong gender," "Urgh, why do all the hot boys have to be gay?" Alex groaned, looking disappointed. "We're not gay," Fred and George said in sync. "No, you're just ugly," Lauren retorted, smiling. "Bit rich," "Oi!"

The scarett steam engine stretched out on platform nine and three quaters, belching black smoke over the crowd of onlookers, small first years were running to get the train and the platform was filled with concerned parents and calls for their children to 'be good' and 'do their homework'. George and Fred met up with their usual group of friends and walked onto the train, talking about Chrsitmas presents and food. Rue, Alex and Lauren loaded their trunks on, Lauren had to do Rue's for her because, as they'd proved before, it weighted more than her and a good looking sixth year helped Alex with hers but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Lauren! He'd smiled and left, two smiling girls and one, very confused Lauren behind. They walked back down the train, searching for a compartment, snapping their heads left and right. Eventually they found one with three very familar faces in, they weren't wearing scowls and smirks they had last term though, they were wearing warm, friendly smiles and invited the three girls to sit with them, Pansy Parkinson, Annabeth Edwards and Blaise Zabini friends with Lauren Colt, Alex Brunelle and Rue Avea, who'd of thought they'd see they day? Blaise and Annabeth were sitting very close together and Alex and Lauren made Rue sit on the same bench as them and they sat opposite with Pansy on their bench. Crimson light was pouring through the train window, draping everything and the compartment had a strange red tint that looked like it was glowing red hot. The scenery outside was wizzing past, a merge of red, blue, green and brown, it had become unfocused, you couldn't tell where the black, tracks stopped at the lush, green grass and sceenery began. A red smudge was lining the horizon broken off only by where the firey-red sky kissed the lush, apple crush. "How were your Christmas Holidays?" Pansy asked, her emerald eyes swimming with warmth and kindness for once. "Mine were eventful, thanks," Lauren replied, her teal eyes glittering in the rising sun. "Mine were boring, I got my presents and then we did nothing," Rue admitted, her huge eyes swimming with warmth, as always. "I went skiing," Alex told them, smiling,"Yours?" "Malfoy kept writing to me, so annoying," Pansy replied, smiling at them. "What was he saying?" Lauren asked her eyes blazing with hatred for Malfoy. "Just the usual, how sorry he was, how much forgiveness meant to him, how he didn't want to start school on the wrong foot," she rolled her green eyes. "He's probably going to start all that again when we sit down at the Slytherin table," Alex told them, scowling. "Urgh, he's completely pathetic, he insults you and then he's basically beging for your forgiveness," Lauren rolled he eyes. "I know right? I just him to decide whether he likes me or not," Pansy told them, sighing. "Trust me, you don't need Mafloy to like you," Alex reassured her. "Thanks guys," Pansy said, smiling at them both. Glancing up to the other bench, Rue was fast asleep, her head bobling against the compartment door and Blaise and Annabeth were kissing, thier arms were enteriwined around each other, they were locked together. Lauren couldn't help but feel jealous, not because she wanted Blaise or anything but because she wanted Sirius to kiss her like that, to feel that ammout of love towards her and to show her off and tell the whole world, this tiny action showed them how proud Blaise was to have Annabeth as his gilfriend, it didn't stop Lauren gaging but it was cute. Alex and Pansy sniggered to the floor and Lauren averted her eyes to something, anything, the last thing she wanted right now was to watch them swapping spit. The rain journey went pretty quickly, the sky turned from crimson to blue to crimson again to royal blue, tiny gems appeared in the sky, breaking up the vast blackness. The sceenery outside was nothing more than silouhuetted buildings and dancing shadows, taunting and tempting, spinng and twisitng, the moon looked like a pure, silver plate. Gradually, everyone had fallen asleep over the train journey, except Lauren, whose head was buzzing with thoughts about Sirius, buzzing like a hundred angry bees, she couldn't rest her mind if she tried, it was too full of thoughts, too busy, it was moving too fast. The scarlett train juddered into Hogsmead station, Rue was the last one to wake up, they all got off feeling gorggy and exhausted. Climbing into the carriages, Rue fell asleep on Blaise's shoulder but when Lauren tried to ,ove her, he smiled to let her know it was okay. Eventually, they reached the castle, it was draped in silver moonlight, the lake ripple and swirled, the strain-glass windows sent mulicoloured pellets of light everywhere and the turrets stood tall, Lauren felt at home again, Hogwarts was he true home. Together, they walked into the gleeming entrance hall, the marauders and Lily were waiting for Lauren but Sirius was talking to two girls. Lauren felt like someone had kicked her very hard in the chest, her breaths had trouble escaping her mouth, it felt like someone was squeazing her lungs, her eyes prickled and shone even more than usual. Not even having the attitude to roll her eyes, she just waved at Lily and followed, a very sleepy, Rue and Alex into the hall. The Christmas decorations had all disappeared and the hall looked as it always did; four tables fraped in emerald, blue, yellow and ruby, enchanted candles gave the room an eerie, yellow glow and the enchnated ceiling mirrored the one outside. The foods looked decicious, as always, the pumpkin juice did too but Lauren couldn't stomach anything, all the foods looked delicious but to Lauren the foods looked disgusting, like lumps would get stuck in her throat, they couldn't obscure her breathing much more than it was now. Glancing over to the ruby table, she saw Sirius flirting with the two girls from the entrance hall, her stomach gave an uncomfotable lurch. "I'm not feeling very hungry," Lauren excused, got up and stode out of the great hall, her two friends gaping after her.

CHAPTER 27: LOVE WITHOUT JEALOUSY IS IMPOSSIBLE

She sprinted through the marble entrance hall, down into the cold, dingy dungeons, that made her arms prickle with goosebumps, whispered to the portaite, ran through the deserted common room, that looked as uninviting as ever, up the marble stairs and burst into her dorm. The tears started to fall down her pale cheeks that were becoming blotchy, the salty water ran into her mouth and made her chestnut hair stick to her face. She climbed onto her bed, watery streaks on her cheeks, her middle parting was sticking to her damp cheeks as she burried her head in the cool, soft pillow, it muffled her sobs slightly but you could hear the huge gasps she was taking inbetween her cries. The sight of him and those girls running around her head, the sobs increased, they were all laughing and joking around, while her chest was being sucked in, her ribs felt like they'd all snapped, her stomach had dropped and shooting pains were hitting her chest, square on, she clutched it but those images made her loose focus. The girls were so much prettier than her, they were slender, their hair was either perfectly straight or perfectly curled, their hair hung loose and shiney, no wonder Sirius was talking to them, Lauren felt she was nothing compared to them. Curling the douvet around her, she burried her face into the thick, comfortable covers and sobbed properly, letting every bit of emotion, every scrap of anger or hurt or betrayl was sobbed out, she hugged the douvet for support, for comfort, she could really do with Nick right now, he'd know exactly what to do. He was right to try and protect her, this felt painful, more pain then she'd ever felt before, the worst thing was this pain was emotional pain, it wasn't physical, she couldn't stick a plaster on it or put an ice pack on or even get stitches, this wasn't physical but her emotions were being torn up into tiny pieces like a piece of unusable paper, ripped up and desgarded, as if it was useless, as if it didn't mean anything. Hugging her knees, she tried to curl up as small as possible, maybe she'd disappear, just get sucked out of her reality, she didn't want it, she didn't want a life of constantly of jealously and having to watch the person she loved flirt with girls much prettier, slimmer, flawless, perfect. They were perfect and she was Lauren, she didn't think she was slender, she was curvy, she didn't think she was pretty, she'd never been told by anyone other than family that she was, she certainly didn't think she was flawless, she had lots of spots, indigo circles under her eyes and loads of freckles. She just wished she could talk to someone, someone who understood, the only person who fully did was Nick and he was seven hours away in London, there was no one, hundreds of students and she'd never felt more alone. Wrapping the douvet closer, she slipped off her skinny jeans and soaked in the warmth and comfort, she wished Nick was here to wrap his securing arms around her and whisper how it would all be alright but that couldn't happen, it wouldn't happen and no matter how much she wished, it was impossible. She tried to sleep, to block out the memories of him and the girls but the image just kept coming back around again, round and round like a song on repeat, always managing to creep back in, to seep through the invisible shield she'd put in place. Eventually she fell into a sleep that was anything from pleasant.

"Lauren, it's eight fourty!" Alex hissed. Laure sat bolt-upright in her bed, cirmson light was pouring through the emerald stain-glass windows, the sky outside was still tinged with red light and there was the usual blood-red smudge along the horzion line. "Why would you do that?!" Laure snapped, feeling anger serge through her, crimson was creeping up her cheeks. "I was just getting you up, Merlin!" Alex replied, hurt crossing her face. Lauren flopped back down on her bed, the covers felt warm around her, like they were her own personal protection, like a snail has it's shell, Lauren had her blanket. Rubbing her eyes, she noticed Pansy and Annabeth were awake too but Alex was the ony one walking round. "What do we have first?" Lauren asked, groggily. "History of Magic, double," Alex answered, picking up several school garments and thowing them at people.  
"Can I just bunk?" Lauren groaned as she rolled out of bed and hit the smooth, carpeted floor that silenced the thud. "Are you serious?" Rue asked, eyeing her friend with a skeptical expression. "Yeah, I could hide under my bed, it looks like there's enough room," Lauren mused, rolling over. "Lauren, just get dressed," Alex snapped. "Merlin, whose biting peoples heads off now?" Lauren retorted scowling. Slowly, she pulled herself up and yanked on her school uniform.  
Grabbing her material bag, she shoved a ruby, glossy book in, a black and yellow book and a brown, leather one with her quil, ink and parchment. She walked over to the mirror and started combing through her knotty, flicky hair, shouting at her comb and glaring at it. "Stupid comb, why would you do that?!" Lauren exclaimed throwing it to the ground and smoothing her chestnut hair back into a bun. "Er, Lauren, are you feeling alright this morning?" Rue asked cautiously, going to retreve the shattered comb. "Never better," Lauren replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Slinging her green bag over her shoulder, she strode over to the tall, wooden door and walked out, not even checking if Rue and Alex were behind her. Running to catch up, they shared a worried glance as they emerged from the cold, dark dungeons and walked into the great hall. Taking their seats at the emerald table, Rue and Alex began to shovel food onto their plates while Lauren just sat there, keeping her eyes glued down on the emerald cloth. Sitting and sitting, watching, glancing, waiting, fake smiling. The marauders were sitting at the table draped in ruby, talking, laughing, joking, Lauren longed to be over there with them, to be smiling and happy too but she wasn't, she was about as far away from happy as anyone could get. Shuffling in her seat, she picked up the gold fork and was twirling it between her finger, it felt smooth and expensive, kissing her finger tips as it spun around, gleeming in the rising sun. Her teal eyes glazed over, looking like glass, thoughts were spinning around her head, faster than impossible, so fast she couldn't desipher what they were, only one thing stuck out, a name, the most important name, the name that so many girls had hissed to the friends, too many times had that name had been in her mind, too many times had it caused her stomach to flutter or her mouth to twitch. Sirius. It seemed so pointless to her; Sirius could have any girl, they all thought he was attractive, Lauren would pass a group of whispering and giggling girls and hear that name, it stung her, it stung like she'd been hit by one of the many brutal branches of the whomping willow, like someone had kicked her in the stomach, hard, and she had no idea why it hurt so much, it hurt like nothing else, it exceeded any emotional or physical pain she'd felt before, she would've rather broken her nose a hundred times. It was the fact that she couldn't do anything about it that hurt the most, the fact that it wouldn't repair like a cut and heal, the fact that it hit everytime she saw him with another girl, the fact that she let herself get jealous and petty. Lauren found it laughable that she'd thought that he could feel the same way, thought that maybe in the distant future they could date, thought that his stormy eyes would mist over with love for her, it was stupid, pathetic, naive, childish. He was completely perfect; his stormy eyes were misty, every crease and crevice looked carved and angelic, his angular jaw looked sculpted to perfection and his black hair, his silky hair shone navy blue under the light, the way it was placed, the way it hung, his body managed to be tall and lanky but muscly and toned, even his lips, they were the perfect balance between thin and plump, pale and crimson, his skin was clear and smooth, he never got any spots and it was inbetween pale and tanned, even something as unimportant as his eyebrows were perfect, they were sculpted but he didn't have to do anything to them, they were naturally perfect, which made him impossible, no one should be perfect, everyone had their flaws, he may have been arrogant but it suited him, the cocky attitude it fitted him to a T, it was him, and he was faultless. Then there was Lauren, she'd never been the skinnest girl, she was curvy, not fat but not thin, her chestnut hair was neither straight nor wavy, it flicked out at impossible angles, her forehead and cheeks were dotted with spots, her skin was as pale as paper, her eyes were unerlined with indigo semi-circles, looking like bruises, she thought her eyes were dull and boring, everyone had blue eyes, she thought she could never compared to her best friends, she was smart, that was it, smartness that she'd improved from books, Sirius was efortlessly smart, he never studied, he didn't even pay attention in class but he was almost as smart as Remus, it wasn't fair, she'd had to work to be clever, she'd have to revise to pass her tests but he didn't. Sirius Black truely was perfect but it was a sickening, completely unfair perfectness. Lauren thought she was average, not pretty but not butt-ugly, she was quite clever, cleverer than he friends but they were flawless, Alex always got attention, at least four boys had asked her out in their first year in the first week alone! Rue was stunning, her chocolate eyes were warm and friendly, her hair was perfect, why did everyone have to be so perfect? How could life be this cruel? Lauren wondered what she had done to deserve this, having two stunning best freinds and falling in love with someone who could never, would never feel the same way. "Are you not gonna eat?" Rue asked, worry in her friendly voice. "I'm not feeling very hungry," Lauren replied, her teal eyes fixed on the wooden table. "Are you alright? You didn't eat last night and you don't seem yourself," Alex injected, her eyes full of warmth. "I'm fine, I'm just having one of those days," Lauren sighed, twirling her thumbs. "Well, things aren't going to get any better, we have History of Magic first," Alex told her, rolling her eyes. "I hate History of Magic, all I do is take notes," Lauren groaned, massaging her temples. "We all hate it, but we've only got to live with it for a couple more years, than we make our options," Alex replied. "I suppose, we should go then, don't want to be late," Lauren suggested, picking up her school bag. "Okay," Rue replied, throwing her leather bag over her shoulder.

Together the three of them walked out of the hall, Lauren's minds swimming with thoughts that she couldn't block out, they always smashed through the barrier like a mirror shattering into thousands of tiny pieces, and filled her mind. Sub consiously she was climbing up the marble stairs, hmming and umming at comments that Rue and Alex said, not even bothering to find out what she was agreeing to. She was aware of pains prickling her legs but there wasn't anymore space in her mind, her thoughts and feelings about him filled it completely, like a baloon just before it's about to pop. They reached the History of Magic classroom and joined the small queue outside the tall, wooden door, waving at Skye on their way down. Before too long, the door burst open and the students flooded through; the classroom looked the same as ever, wooden desks that seated two put into rows, a long, smeared blackboard stretching across the front classroom wall and the wooden teachers desk swept slightly to the side, the room was stuffy, it felt like walking into a steam room, golden sunlight was pouring through the huge windows and making it look light and airy. Crossing to her seat, Lauren took out her yellow and black textbook, her eagle feather quill and a sheet of creamy-yellow parchment, slid the cool, wooden stool out and sat down. Feeling her messy bun brush her neck, she turned her teal, shiny eyes towards the teacher and the blackboard. Everyone was surprised to see the marauders and Lily walk in on time, they were the last through the door and took their seats immediatly, after smiling at professor Domby to make their presence known, who stared back in shock. Sirius strode over to the desk he and Lauren shared, waving goodbye to James to annoy their teacher, pulled out the stool and took his seat. Lauren felt her brain scramble, her palms started to sweat, she rubbed them desperatly on her prestine, black robe but it was no use, her heart was pounding against her rib cadge, trying to escape, to tare free, and sharp pains stabbed. Breathing out to steady herself, she deicided that not talking to Sirius was the best thing to do, or talk as minimal as possible, maybe she wouldn't shout at him then, shout at him for being so damn perfect, for getting every girl in school to find him attractive, of course these weren't things he could help but Lauren felt infuriated with him, she wanted to blame him for everything, relieve some of the anger she'd bottled up inside, hate him for making her fall, just like all those other pathetic, giggly girls before her. "Settle down, settle down. Now, today class we shall be learning about the final goblin war, the most tragic one and the one that caused the most loss of life, please do not forget to take notes or just remember it if you wish," Professor Domby droaned, floating inches above the floor in front of his desk,"It started like most wars, they were conflict..." "Hey," Sirius greeted, smiling at her, the smile that made her stomach flutter and her palms sweat more. She simply smiled back, glancing at him and then turning her eyes back to the front as quickly as she could. Her heart began to beat faster, each one thumping, thumping so loud she wondered if Sirius could hear, it sounded like thunder claps to her, a dull, sharp thud. Moving her hand furiously, she scribbled down the dates of the war and how many reported deaths there was, soaking the information about as much as a brick would soak up water. Sighing, she saw out of the corner of her eye Sirius watching her and twidling his hawk feather quill in his nimble fingers, feeling his strong gaze, she cleared her throat and tried to concentrate harder. "How were your christmas holidays?" he asked, trying to make conversation. "Alright," Lauren answered bluntly, keep her eyes glued to the front. Sirius looked at her with a confused expression on his face, Lauren scribbled down more facts that sunk in about as much as the ones before, writing fast and neatly. His stormy eyes were watching her every move, from her furious hand to the way her lips pulled to the side, Lauren felt his eyes on her and sighed. Ignoring him was a lot harder than she'd imagined, his eyes were tempting her, willing her to talk, she didn't want to, she was angry at him but when she looked at those stormy grey eyes her anger melted away. "I didn't see you at dinner last night," Sirius commented, pretending to concentrate on something their teacher had said. "I guess you were busy," Lauren replied in an icy voice, writing down another fact. Sirius' eyes widened at her, confusion flittered across his carved features and his perfect, sculpted eyebrows knitted together. Going back to jotting down information, she felt anger surging through her, winding and coursing with her blood, threatening to burst her vanes. "Did I do something wrong?" Sirius asked, his voice soft and gentil, his eyes watching her every move, gliding from the tips of her pale fingers to her bright, teal eyes. "No, I just love coming back and finding my friends don't care," Lauren snapped, her teal eyes blazing with fury. Her fingers tightened around her quill and her fair, plucked eyebrows dipped into a deep frown. "What? We waited for you in the entrance hall," he replied, his grey eyes flecked with worry. "Yeah, you were busy then too," Lauren sniped, scrawling down some fact about how most goblins were beheaded in the war, and letting her brow smooth out. "Lauren, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, trying to look directly into her sparkly, teal eyes. Turning her head, she ignored his attemps and shouted at herself internally to concentrate. But she didn't answer, tuning in again, she noticed that Professor Domby was nearly at the end of his story, she scribbled down some last minute facts and re-read what she'd written. It didn't make much sense, words were missing, the grammar was incorrect and she'd put an apostrophy in 'uses', but she understood them fine. "And that is why they don't fight anymore. We will be moving on to the founders of Hogwarts next lesson, I thought it would make a nice change from wars. The bell is about to go, please pack up," Lauren shoved her full parchment, quill, ink and textbook into her green, material bag and slung it over she shoulder just as the bell rang. "Tell Peter to meet me in the library at five," Lauren told Sirius, not looking at him as she straightened her emerald and silver tie. "Er, sure," He replied, his stormy eyes narrowed. Without thanking him, Lauren slid past and met Rue and Alex who were waiting for her by the tall wooden door. All Sirius could do was stare after her, she'd been so cold, so blunt, she'd acted like a completely different person. Feeling his gaze on her back, Lauren and her friends walked down the marble staircase, their legs aching, and into the entrance hall.

The gentil, winter breeze tickled their faces and twirled around their ankles as they walked out into the grounds, the grass was apple green and lush, the lake rippled and shone underneath the weak sun and groups of students were sitting around, some reading, some studying but most just talking. The three of them ambled across the grounds, the short, thin grass stroking their feet, the sun was desperatly trying to break through the grey, thick clouds but only streams of warm light were getting through, chiming laugher, buzzing conversations and ringing giggles were filling the air as students enjoyed the weather, that for once, wasn't raining. Plopping down on the soft, silky grass, Alex, Rue and Lauren cast their eyes around, each one looking for different things, Rue was looking for Edward, Alex was searching for Dean and Lauren was cautiously glancing around for any sign of the marauders. They'd probably be under their usual tree. Pulling out 'Pride and Prejudice', another book she'd borrowed from Lily, she flipped the light blue, smooth cover open, with glittering gold letters, and turned the flimsy, cream pages until she got to where she'd finished last. She'd only just started reading when three silouhetted shapes fell onto her book, making it impossible to read. Glancing up, she saw Edward, Dean and Alex standing there, smiling at the girls, Lauren returned the smiled, marked her page and folded the immaculate book shut. "Hey," Edward greeted, chucking down his schoolbag and smiling warmly at them, Dean and Alex mimicked him. They sat in a circle, Rue than Edward then girl Alex, then Dean, then Lauren and finally boy Alex, the wind whistling and spiralling around the group. "Hey, how was your Christmas?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes swimming with warmth. "It was good, thanks. We all stayed at school, the holidays after were a little boring but they went pretty quick," Edward replied, his caramel eyes smiling,"You?"  
"Mine were pretty boring actually, we can't all go skiing," Rue said, rolling her eyes at Alex and beaming. "I don't make the plans! My parents just spring it on me and expect me to pack, it was really fun though," Alex shot back, smiling. "At least I wrote," her teal eyes fell on Lauren, who smiled innocently back. "I keep telling you, I didn't get any letter! I'm just glad to be back at school, christmas was really dull this year," Lauren told them and smiled. "So, overall not a good Christmas?" Dean asked, his curly hair blowing in the gentil wind. "Not really," Alex told him, smiling. Lauren giggled, Alex was looking at Dean all dough eyed, she tried to disguise it with a cough but it didn't work and she glared at her. "Rue, what have we got next?" Lauren asked, dreading that it would be something with the Gryffindor's. "Er, potions," Rue told her. Lauren sighed, she massaged her temples and rolled her eyes. "I thought you liked potions?" Alex asked. "I do, but I'm not in the mood today," Lauren admitted, pushing her silky hair back with her fingers. "You think you're not in the mood, at least you can make potions!" Alex exclaimed. "If it goes too bad I'll help," Lauren promised, a smile playing on her lips.  
"You mean when," "What have you guys got next?" Rue asked. "We've got History of Magic," Dean told her, smiling. "Well, sorry to break this up but we better go, potions is in the dungeons and we really don't wanna be late," Lauren suggested, standing up and pulling her bag over her shoulder. "Oh, er, okay. I guess we'll see you at lunch?" Dean asked, looking hopeful. "Yeah, we'll see you in the hall," Alex told them. "Come on girl Alex, stop flirting, we've gotta go," Lauren teased, smirking. "Shut up, Colt," "You wish, Brunell-e,"

CHAPTER 28: A SILENT ACCUSATION

They crossed the grounds again, the spiky grass tickling their ankles, flecks of golden sunlight were shining down on them and the grey clouds had parted slightly, revealing a clear, blue patch. The soft, winter wind was blowing their hair behind their shoulders and tickling their cheeks as they walked over to the stone steps. Students all around them were starting to stand up, greeted by the gentil breeze as they made their way to lessons, the buzz of conversation had died out slightly, the laughter wasn't chiming as loud, the small groups were breaking up, heading to different lessons. Lauren, Alex and Rue stepped into the welcoming, marble entrance hall, pupils were saying goodbye to their friends, waving and smiling. Together, they descended into the grim, crisp dungeons, goosebumps prickling their arms as they strode along the freezing corridor, the cold was nipping at their faces and dancing around thier bodies. Reaching their classroom, the bell rang and they lined up outside the tall, stone door, hugging their black cloaks tighter. Students joined them moments later, all complaing about how cold it was, they were flocking down the stone steps, from the warm hall, and the coldness was hitting them like a fist. Lauren felt her jaw clench as the goosebumps climbed up her arms and spread across her back, her already pale face became paler, making her look like a ghost. Eventually, the stone door swung open, Professor Greyson appeared wearing his usual velvet, crimson robes, his hair was grey and cropped and he was wearing a friendly smile, he walked back in again and beckoned for his students to follow, his broad shoulders looking demanding and stern. The potions classroom had pewter cauldrons in rows, wooden desks were placed next to them and small, silver stools were slid underneath for the threoy lessons, that were mainly revising for tests. Just like every other classroom, a thick, smeared blackboard stretched across the front wall and the wooden teachers desk was placed slightly in front. Grudgingly, Lauren said goodbye to her friends and walked to her wooden desk where Sirius was already seated, potions was the only lesson the marauders liked, they were always on time. Taking out her velvet, emerald potions book, quill and parchment, she glued her teal eyes to the board, just as she had done before. She felt Sirius stormy gaze on her as she arranged her equpiment on her desk. "Right, class. Settle, down, that means you too Brunelle, Mr Potter please leave Miss Evans alone, don't throw things Zabini!" he let out a long sigh, class was always this way after break, lot's of hyper children and classes weren't a good mix,"Brunelle, if I have to tell you to stop talking again it'll be a detention, I understand you're all hyper and that it isn't raining for once but calm down. Mr Zabini please leave Miss Edwards and return to your table." He threw up his crimson draped arms,"Settle down!" he bellowed, his mouth twitching slighly, at once the whole class fell silent, enough was enough and they respected Professor Greyson the most. "Thank you. Now, I'm truely sorry but we have a theory lesson today, I know it's not ideal and no fun but it's just for these lessons. Please turn to page 489 in your textbooks and complete the questions. Just ask for help if you're stuck," Lauren flipped open the velvet cover that felt soft and fury against her fingers, turned the creamy pages and scanned it, her teal eyes shining like diamonds under the yellow, firery glow of the candles. Sirius' gaze hadn't left her, his eyes were studying her with intent and longing, he was secretly admiring how adorable she looked when she was concentrating. Lauren glided the silver tip of the quill over the creamy-brown parchment, writing down the ingredients in a felix potion. The class was mostly silent, the scraping of quills and mutters filled the air, Alex was still whispering, not phased at all about his earlier warning. Sirius still wasn't lifting his gaze, even though Lauren had met his eyes and scowled, he'd simply just stare, occasionally breaking away to write a sentence and then returning to her. Sighing, she frowned at the book, trying to inscribe the words into the brain, trying to not think about him. "Lauren, what did I do?" Sirius sighed after minutes, that felt like hours, of staring. Lauren simply shrugged her shoulders, making her rope swish with movement as she continued writing, not even looking up at him as he spoke. Looking at her with warm, friendly eyes, that held a flicker of hurt and concern, he scribbled down an answer in untidy, fast scrawl, he hadn't even bothered to write it in a proper sentence. Lauren's mind was buzzing with those words, he'd sounded concerned, maybe even a little hurt, which made her feel even more guilty. Shaking her head slightly, she read a paragraph about pollyjuice potion and began answering the questions on it, they were simple enough, they should've been easy for her but she felt like it was asking her to work out what the circumference of Hogwarts was. "You're still going to ignore me?" He asked after agonising minutes passed, he'd completely abandoned his work, leaving his quill on the edge of the desk. Lauren shifted uncomfortabley under his gaze, it was strong and questioning but gentil and kind at the same time, it seemed impossible but then he was impossible, perfectly impossible. "Do you mind not staring at me?" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes blazing with fury at the person she loved. She'd looked up from describing the downsides of using felix potion and anger was surging through her like blood through vanes. "Well, you're not telling me what I did wrong. I don't want you to be angry at me but I can't apologise for something that I don't know I've done," Sirius replied, pretending to read a section of the emerald textbook when Professor Greyson cast his eyes around the room. "See? That's the problem; you don't know what you've done," Lauren told him, keeping her eyes glued to her parchment that was almost full with small, neat writing. "The problem is that I don't know what I've done? How am I suppose to know what I've done when you won't tell me?" Sirius hissed, his black hair shining navy blue under the light. "You're suppose to just know!" Lauren snapped, feeling crimson creep up her cheeks, not from embarassment but from anger,"you know what? Just forget it, Sirius," Turning back to her work, she re-read what she'd written, it made a tiny bit more sense than the one from History but she'd still used bad grammar and spelling mistakes littered the page. "I can't forget it when you're ignoring me and avioding me," He retorted, the thing that bothered Lauren the most wasn't the tone of his voice, it had a slight sadness to it, it was his eyes, they looked pleading, hurt flicked across them, interupting the grey mist. "I guess you'll have to try," Lauren replied, her voice as cold as ice. This scene just made her even more frustrated, he didn't understand, maybe if it was the other way round, if he fancied her and she was off flirting with boys then he would, but that wasn't going to happen and he could never understand. "Class please write me a 15 inch essay on Felix, it will be due in a couple of lessos from now," "Are you, are you saying that you don't want to be friends anymore?" Sirius asked, his face expressionless but his eyes gave it all away, they were full of hurt, confusion and sadness. The bell rung chimed, Lauren packed away her things, stuffing them into her compact bag, and was just about to walk away when she turned around, her eyes blazing with anger. "Not until you understand," she snapped and strode away. It took Sirius a few minutes to realise what she meant but when he did it hurt like a punch, the girl he loved, not only did she not love him back, she didn't even want to be friends anymore. He stood frozen on the stop, suspended in his thoughts as shock washed over him.

Meanwhile, Lauren was chatting away with Rue and Alex, not portraying any of the hurt and cheerlessness that were weighing down on her chest. Striding into the great hall, they walked over to the table draped in emerald and took their places, Lauren slotted inbetween Alex and Regulus. Again, she didn't feel hungry, it was a strange feeling like she could eat, she could feel hungry but she didn't want to, she felt like even if her stomach was growling, the signal wouldn't reach her brain. It sounded cliche and something straight out of a sickening romance novel that would make you roll your eyes at every cheesy moment or line but she felt weird, sort of empty, like where Sirius wasn't a hole had appeared. It felt like she'd lost something or someone, any technically she had, but she'd only known him for less than two years, all those times throughout their friendship when people had asked if they were a couple, asked how Lauren couldn't notice this attractiveness, asked how she could be his bestfriend and want nothing more but she hadn't until that stupid day months ago when she realised. She had always secretly loved the fact that all the other girls were falling head over heels for him but she wasn't, she liked that she was different, she liked having Sirius as a best friend, it wasn't complicated, they worked, and now everything was complicated, they didn't work, Lauren hated him and she had no idea why, she wasn't different and she wanted to be more than best friends, she noticed his breath taking features. She hated him, didn't she? She had to, Lauren had been blanking him ever since they got back but she was ignoring him because she'd seen him with those girls. She was jealous, but that meant she had to care, she had to have feelings for him to be jealous. She hated that she cared? She hated that he was a player? She generally hated him? Maybe her feelings were generated by hate, no, that couldn't be right. Then it hit her, hit her like a bludger in her face, it had been obvious, right in front of her the whole time. She hated that she loved him. That was it, she hated him for making her feel like this, she blamed him for his perfect features, she hated what she loved. That had to be the stupidist thought that ever crossed her mind but it had also been the truest one. All these romantic thoughts were making her feel sick to her stomach, she didn't want these feelings, she didn't want to grow up, she wanted to be a naive second year for the rest of her life, best friends with him, instead of feeling these crappy things that made her lfie horrible. Lauren thought that falling in love was suppose to feel good, suppose to make you feel better, everyone said it was a high point in your life, adults reminissed to her about it but she couldn't see what was great about it. Jealousy would overwhelm her, she kept getting angry at Sirius for something that wasn't his fault, she was blaming him for something that he had no power over, even though it wasn't fair, it wasn't her fault either, she just automatically blamed him and he was paying the price for something he hadn't done. It wasn't fair but life wasn't fair. These feelings weren't fair. Nothing was fair. That's the way it was. Better to accept it now. "Lauren, are you alright?" Regulus' voice came. Snapping out of her rant inside her head, she was pulled back to reality and was met with the concerned face of Regulus Black, her best friend. "Er, yeah, I think so," Lauren stumbled, not sure exactly what was happening to her. "It's just you haven't eat much recently and I was wondering if something was wrong, like you're, upset, upset about something?" Regulus asked cautiously, he knew how fiesty Lauren was and didn't want to get on the wrong side of her, especially as she was acting so strange.  
"I haven't been feeling hungry recently, I think I'm ill but I can't exactly go to Madame Pomfrey and say I think I'm ill because I usually eat loads and I don't feel hungry," Lauren replied, chancing a smile, it was a ghost of her ususal beam but it was a smile. "I suppose not but It's not very good for you to not eat. Maybe you should just chance a tiny bit of food, you never know, you could feel better?" he suggested, smiling hopefully at her. "I'll eat if you want me to vomit all over you, might make you more attractive," Lauren joked and laughed, her proper laugh, chiming like a bell, her face breaking into a huge smile. "Hey! I am plenty attractive already, girls are queueing up to be mine," Regulus shot back, his lips pulling into a smile. "Plenty attractive compared to a bin," Lauren taunted, her smile growing, it felt good to smile genuinly. "Bit rich coming from you, I am perfectly attractive thank you very much," he replied, the muscles in his face pulling up. "Oi! I am very attractve all have you know, I would say you want to date me but I think I'm the wrong gender," She joked, poking him in the ribs and laughing. "Excuse me? I think you have your facts muddle up, Lauren."  
"I never have my facts wrong," "Everyones wrong at some point in their life, you know? I just pray for the person that has to tell you," Regulus told her, smiling. "Well, when I'm older I'll take being wrong better and who ever tells me will have a slim chance of living," She retorted. "How gracious, a slim chance. Anyway, what have you got next?" "I think we have double something? I'm not exactly sure but it'll probably be something boring," Lauren replied, rolling her eyes,"I should check," Bending down, she slipped her timetable out from her material bag and glanced her teal eyes over it. "Good or bad?" Regukus asked, an amused expression on his face. "Good actually, I've got two free periods because our class is astronomy and we have it later tonight," A smile lit up her face, making her teal eyes twinkle and her pale, thin lips stretch. "Er, I've got double Herbology, that's terrible," He groaned, scowling at his timetable like he was blaming it. "That is pretty bad. It's only monday and I'm shattered already, I'm convinced I'm going to have a mental breakdown by the end of the week," Lauren complained, rubbing her face. "I'm sick of basically every lesson except potions and we've not been back a day!" "I don't mind astronomy but we have to go to the tower at like ten," Lauren complained. "Who have you got it with?" Regulus asked, smiling. "Gryffindor's," It's like life was testing her, testing how much contact she could have with Sirius before she admitted how she felt, before she blurted out how much she really liked him. Lauren had no idea what she'd done but appearently life hated her at the moment, she'd say it was karma but she didn't think that she deserved it. Lessons with Sirius were hard enough, pretending she didn't care, always getting mad at him, trying not to stare for too long or noticed his carved features. Now she would have to se his stormy eyes mist over, his features draped in moonlight and, if she wasn't careful, the truth might come pouring out. "Haven't you had lessons all day with them?" Regulus asked, his black, sculpted eyebrows knitted together. "Er, yeah, how'd you know?" Lauren replied a little startled, she hadn't told him that, how did he know?  
"I, just, er, just overheard," he stammered, clearly racking his brain for an excuse. "Regulus," she looked deep into his stormy eyes,"tell me," he teal eyes twinkled, it made it almost impossible. He sighed. "I overheard it at the Gryffindor table, the marauders were talking about it," he replied, looking down. Lauren felt a stab of annoyance at these words, why were they discussing that they had all day with the Slytherin's? The bigger question was; were they complaining or gloating. "When?" Lauren asked, her voice suddenly hard and curt, inquizitive and looking for answers. "At break, look it's no big deal, really," "Were they complaining about it or were they looking forward?" Lauren shot back as soon as the last letter had left Regulus' lips. "I don't really know, I only heard vaguely. They sounded as though they were looking forward I guess, or at least like they didn't mind too much," he told her, eyeing her cautiously and taking a gulp from his gold goblet. "Oh, okay," Lauren breathed, slightly in shock, they shouldn't of been looking forward to a whole day with the Slytherin's. Gryffindor's and Slytherin's hated each other, it's the way it was, the way it had always been, not that Slytherin's were suppose to be friendly with the other houses. Everyone had the impression that Slytherin's were evil but Alex, Rue and Lauren had proven that wrong, just like how not all Gryffindor's are brave or that all Hufflepuff's are friendly, they were constant misconceptions that people had. The bell broke up Lauren's thoughts and scattered them. "That's my cue," Regulus told her, getting up and slinging his bag over his shoulder,"have fun with your free periods while I'm stuck in Herbology," "Good luck!" Lauren called as Regulus disappeared, she heard a faint chuckle which meant that he'd heard her. "What do you guys wanna do?" Rue asked, her huge, brown eyes swimming with kindness. "Homework?" Lauren suggested, pulling her bag across her shoulder. "I was thinking more outside," Alex prompted, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "It's set then," Rue concluded, grabbing her bag and joining the snaking clumps of students pushing to get through the narrow, wooden doors.

CHAPTER 29: THE AURA OF HOGWARTS

The three of them walked out onto the lush grounds of Hogwarts, they emitted something, it wasn't physical, it was more like an aura, one that felt warm, cosy, safe, it felt exactly like home. Better than home. The sound of rippling water filled the air as they walked, the giant squid was splashing its amazing trunk-like tenticals, showering the students who were too near in squirts of cold water. The sun had finally managed to break through the clouds sending pellets of golden light down and draping everyone and everything, patches of clear, blue sky were appearing and it had gotten a lot warmer. Approaching where they'd sat before, Alex flopped down on the spikey, lush grass, basking in the golden sun, Rue plopped down, cross-legged and was stroking clumps of apple grass through her fingers, it felt silky and smooth, Lauren on the otherhand simply sat with her legs stretched out, her hands supporting her and stared up into the blinding, caramel sun. A gentil, cooling breeze touched their faces, blowing their hair back and tickling them, it swirled around the three girls dancing and spinning, cooling and relaxing. The lushious fields seemed desserted, normally they were packed with hundeds of students, kissing, reading, chatting or studying, but it was almost empty, Gryffindor and Slytherin students were dotted around in groups, mainly chatting, a low hum of conversations alive in the air. The nearby trees were rustling in the soft wind, crsip, crunchy leaves, flowers were starting to spring, crimson, indigo, emerald, rose, all colours of all variations. Sighing, Lauren turned her teal eyes away from the breath taking sky, she grabbed her school bag, pulled out a roll of parchment and laid it on the apple grass. Sliding out her eagle feather quill, her emerald textbook and a crystal bottle full of swiriling black liquid, she set them down next to the creamy, soft paper and rolled onto her front. The sound of her quill scratching across the parchment seemed to ring around the empty grounds, the silence was strange, unnatural but it was peaceful and relaxing and, for once, she didn't have to tell first years to be quiet or put a silenicng charm around her as she normally had to do in the common room. Also, the dim, emerald light didn't make things very clear and the gloomy atmosphere made it almost impossible to concentrate but out here, it was paradise. A group of Slytherin's were sprawled over near the lake, sitting on the bank and watching the squid splash about, they were all the boys apart from Blaise and one boy stood out, platinum, blond hair, stormy grey eyes, pale complexion and a permenent smirk plastered on his lips. Malfoy. Next to him, a boy with long greasy hair, dull, black eyes and pale skin was reading an emerald book with glittering gold writing spelling 'Potions'. That was Severus Snape, Lily's old best friend, they'd fallen out one day, James and Sirius had used the levicorprius charm to suspend him by his ankle, he'd tried to defend himself but James had disarmed him, Lily had come running over to his defense, shouting at James to let him go. Eventually, James did but Snape had said that 'he didn't need help from a mudblood' and she'd stormed off, that had been the end of their relationship. Two boys were just sitting around, staring blankly into the rippling water of the lake, one was quite tall and chubby with cropped brown, curly hair and dull, brown eyes, his face always wore a vacant expression and he just followed Malfoy around, the other was considerably shorter, had cropped black, straight hair and airy, brown eyes, he too wore a dreamy expression and was just a thug for Malfoy when he couldn't fight himself, as much as she despised Malfoy, Lauren admired that he stood up for what he believed in and wouldn't take any crap from anyone, they were Crabbe and Goyle, everyone knew each other by their last names as it was easier. If two people had the same name, unlikely since her friends had names like Sirius and Remus, but you would never get confused by surnames, also most teachers did as well. Grabbe and Gole were Malfoy's croonies, he went around in a pathetic gang with people that only liked him because he made other kids cry, he used words like 'mudblood' and 'bloodtraitor' like they were going out of fashion and he knew how to hurt people. Lauren had no idea why Snape hung out with them, he'd lost his friendship with Lily for them and they weren't exactly anything special, she mused his while opening her emerald textbook and flipping the creamy pages. Her eyes slid down the page on felix potion, she knew enough about it already but professor Greyson was her favourite teacher and she wanted to get a really good grade, the black print was small but clear and as she read a picture of a pointed fushca bottle cleared in her mind containing a clear liquid that shone very colour under the light. The sunlight was pouring down onto her book, making the black text and printed pictures glow yellow, illuminating the whole page. The gentil breeze was making the fragile pages flap about while Lauren was writing down all about felix potion, the sound of her quill scratching across the paper drowned pretty much everything else out, her fair, curved eyebrows were pulled together, her mouth was pulled slightly to the left and her eyes were following her hand, reading what she'd wrote, she hand was moving furiously, she managed to write fast and neat at the same time. Resting her head in the crook of her arm, she scribbled down more of her essay, she had almost filled half of the ammount she was suppose to, and felt the silky grass tickling her pale arms and tinging them sickly green. She could feel the sunlight blaring down onto her back, warming it, her teal were catching the light and twinkling and her pink tongue was poking out the corner of her mouth, only slightly. Tilting her head, Lauren put down her quill and re-read what she'd written. It sounded quite good in her opinion and she'd nearly filled the required ammount. Smiling, she wrote the last few lines, explaining why felix can be dangerous if people are going through depression, and wrote her name on the top. "Are you done already?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes wide as she watched Lauren slot the essay into her bag, closely followed by her quill, ink and textbook.  
"Yeah, It wasn't that long," Lauren shrugged, sitting crossed-legged and smiling at her two best friends. "Speaking of that essay..." Alex prompted, smiling sweetley and batting her long, blond eyelashes. "No, Alex. I'm not doing yours for you, how do you expect to learn anything?" Lauren replied, her eyebrows raised. "I didn't mean do it all, maybe a paragraph like the introduction or the conclusion?" Alex asked, looking hopeful. "No, you're not going to get any better at potions if you get me to do all your work," "It's easy for you! You're amazing at everything and you always get high marks on your tests!" Alex whined. "The only reason I got those marks is because I studied and got better at the subjects," Lauren reasoned, yanking a tuft of apple green grass from the soft ground. "Maybe I'll ask Lily or Remus, I know we're not exactly friends but they might?" Alex mused. "Don't bother, they'll have James and Sirius asking them," "Ask Dean to help you," Rue suggested, smiling. "I don't really feel comfortable asking him, I don't want him to think that I only like him because he's clever," Alex admitted, her cheeks redenning. "Alex, he might think that if you asked like twenty times but you've never asked him before," Rue countered, smiling. Lauren felt cold drift over her, a shadow had fallen and she was surronded by a tall, silohuetted figure. Turning her head, her teal eyes expectant she was met with the one person she didn't want it to be, her smile drooped and outrage washed over her. "Hey, er, can I talk to you?" he stuttered, smiling shyly and bending one leg.  
"No," Lauren replied bluntly, her voice icy and curt. The feeling of hatred waved over her again, she hated that he looked so perfect standing there, a small shy grin and his stormy eyes full of hurt over what happened earlier that day. "Would you please tell me why you're mad at me?" Sirius looked hurt by her tone of voice and the fact that she was glowering at him fiercly.  
"No," Lauren told him, her voice just as icy as before. It was taking everything she had not to apologise for how she'd acted, apologise for being such a bitch towards him, but she refrained, the truth would ruin everything. "Why not?" Her challenged, a perfect eyebrow cocked but his eyes still flickered with sadness.  
"Why should I? You obviously think you've done nothing wrong," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Bit rich," Sirius muttered, scowling. Lauren heard this, even though she was sure she wasn't meant to. "Excuse me?!" she demanded, turning around and standing up. "Well, you think that whatever you're doing here is alright? That you can just ignore me completely, accuse me of something that I have no idea that I did and then get mad at me when I'm just responding to what you've said," he shot back, his voice filled with anger and rage. Guilt had swallowed her up, she wanted to say how sorry she was, that she was just being stupid and pathetic, of course he had every right to shout back, to give back what he got, but Lauren remembered him with those girls and her common sense left. "I'm just trying to be mature about this, the whole reason I'm ignoring you is because I don't want to fight!" Lauren replied, matching his anger. "You think ignoring people is mature? I'd rather you'd just tell me what I did, that would be the mature thing!" "Not really because it's human nature to defend ourselves, If I'd of told you what you did, we would've just had an argument!" "How is that any different from now?!" Sirius challenged, his voice cold and cruel. "I was trying to prevent this, but you're the one that came over here! I didn't walk over to you and start shouting!" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes blazing. "What? You blame me for caring when you ignore me? Please, tell me Lauren, what would you like me to do?! You get angry at me when I care and ask what I did but you'd get angry if I ignored you as well!" Sirius snipped, his stormy eyes full of fury. Lauren just stared, wordless, he was right, she was being completely unfair towards him. "See this?" she waved her arms around her and Sirius,"this is exactly what I didn't want!" "And you think I did? You think I want to be ignored and to argue with my best friend?!" he shot back. "No! I didn't mean that!" she yelled, exasperated. "Then what did you mean, Lauren? What have I done that's so unforgiveable that you're ignoring me?" "It all comes back to the fact that you think you haven't done anything wrong, you can't see what you've done!" Lauren couldn't tell him what he'd done even if she wanted to, she hated him simply because he made her fall for him, which wasn't really a valid excuse. "You're right. I don't think I've done anything wrong, I don't see what I've done that's made you all..." he didn't finish, his breaths were heavy and fast, his hands were fisted and he was scowling. "Since we're being all honest here, why don't you just spit it out?!" Lauren asked, her cheeks glowing crimson. "Maybe I should, maybe I should call you all the names I could think of but I'm not going to because I'm actually going to be the mature one. I can see that this is going nowhere and I'm not going to get an answer. I guess I'll see you in astronomy, if you feel like talking that is," he spat, turned around and stromed off. Lauren just watched, watched the person she loved walk away, she'd hurt him, she felt a lump rising in her throat and her eyes started to sting. Sighing, she collapsed onto the squishy, oddly comfy apple grass and combed her fingers through her silky, chestnut hair. Her cheeks were still flushed and her hands were sticky and sore, she'd smoothed out her brow and let guilt wash over her again. Feeling terrible, she sat up and was met with her friends concerned eyes, huge brown and sky blue. "What was that all about?" Alex asked, genuine shock in her voice. "Urgh! Don't even ask!" Lauren replied, massaging her temples and yanking up tufts of jade grass. "Lauren?" Rue asked tentively, her chocolate eyes wide,"why do you hate him?" Lauren sighed, she flopped back down onto the grass. "To be honest with you, Rue, I have absoluetly no idea whatsoever," Lauren admitted. "Lauren, that makes no sense," Alex injected, her eyebrows knitted together. "I know," Lauren sighed,"I guess we now both hate each other," "No, I don't think he hates you! Just give him time to cool off," Rue reassured her friend, smiling. "He does and it's all my fault for being a complete and utter bitch," Lauren replied, smiling weakly. "Then, why did you say those things?" Alex asked, more confused than before. "Because I hate him but I don't," she shrugged like it was simple. "Wait, you do hate him or you don't?" Alex quizzed. "Yes," "Was that a yes to hating him or not?" "Yes," "You're not making sense! I'm super confused!" Alex complained. "I'm explaining now," Lauren replied, smiling at her friend. "But I don't understand," "There's a shock," she winked at her,"It's pretty simple but I can't explain it any better than that," "I've given up trying to understand you, Lauren. I gave up the day we met and you were jumping about shouting about llamas," Alex replied and chuckled at the memory. "Oh dear, the day I was high on that muggle drink!" Lauren sighed and laughed too. "Yeah, the first day we met. That was probably the best day ever, we scared so many older students, well Lauren did." Rue added, laughing as well. "I was hyper! And then, do you guys remember, from that day on we promised that we'd never let me near a fizzy drink again?" Lauren gasped through her laughs that had now become fits. "I remember it well, you met Regulus that day the following year, he offered you a sip of lemonade and we all shouted no," Alex smiled. "I think he was really creeped out by that but when I explained he understood fully," Lauren smiled too, it all seemed like so long ago, why had everything messed up this bad? "I still don't get what that whole llama thing was to be honest," Rue admitted, her pure-white teeth showing through her laughs. "I don't really remember what I said, It's all kind of a blur for me," "Then, that following year, after you'd become best friends with Regulus, you met the marauders and Lily," Alex added, smiling. "Man, I was really popular that year! Even Malfoy was being less insuffereable and now he just hates me," "You were, I was always skeptical about them, I kind of still am," Alex admitted. "The marauders? Nah, they're alright really. I guess they can be a bit arrogant but mostly they're alright," "It's funny, you look back only a couple of years ago and everything has changed," Rue mused, smiling. "Not everything, we're still friends, I'm friends with the marauders, Lily and Regulus," "You think getting older would be better, but it just complicates things. I mean, me and Rue have boyfriends now, I never thought I would have one until at least sixth year," "Anyway, I'll see you guys later, I'm tutoring Peter in the library," Lauren told them, she stood up, ironed out her crinkled uniform against her body and untied her hair that she'd brushed most out of anyway. "Okay, see you," Alex said smiling.

CHAPTER 30: HOWARTS LIBRARY

Lauren walked back across the Hogwarts grounds, the apple grass stretching out like the sea, infinate and just as beautiful. The short, spikey grass prickled her ankles as she headed towards the stone steps and out of the paradise, her chestnut hair flying behind her in the gentil wind, her face as pale as snow and tingling with the tickling breeze. The sunlight was blazing down onto her back, it felt like the warmth was seeping through into her bones, the sky was almost completely blue and the whole scene looked like one from a fairytale, the beautiful castle, lush, green grounds, sunlight draping everything, it was perfect. Casting her teal eyes around, she noticed that classes must've ended because students were flocking out into the blazing sun and fautless grounds, admiring the weather. She looked around one last time and slipped up the grey, stone steps and into the shiney, marble entrance hall that was deserted, everyone was outside enjoying the rare sun, the castle was eerily quiet. Normally, students were busting about, pushing, shouting and conversing, Hogwarts was never quiet, whether it was whispering, giggly girls or rowdy, loud older boys, the sound always rang off the many walls, down the staircases and engulfed the whole castle. Heading towards the library, Lauren snapped her head left to right and back again, she spotted the odd students but nothing like ususal, to be honest, she would rather be outside basking in the warm sun but she'd promised Peter and he was her friend. Caught up in her thoughts, her teal eyes had glazed over and she slammed right into someone. Looking up, she saw the crimson robed figure of Professor Greyson, his wired glasses had fallen to the end of his nose and he looked startled. "Sorry, sir, I wasn't looking where I was going," Lauren apologised, rubbing her forehead that had slammed right into his velvet chest. "Ah! Miss Colt, I was just looking for you," he gushed, a friendly smile fixed on his pale lips. "Me? Why? Lauren asked, matching his startled look,"oh, er, sir," she added. "You don't have to call me 'sir' out of lessons. I noticed that Sirius looked a bit gloomy and I was wondering If you had any idea what happened?" he asked, pushing his glasses back up to their original position. "I've got to say that was quite smooth," Lauren complimented, smirking slightly. "Am I that easy to read?" Professor Greyson asked, looking down hearted. "No, it was smooth but I could tell," she replied, smiling at him. "Damn, you've seen through my cunning plan. Anyway, I know it's none of my business and feel free not to answer but what happened?"  
"I'm not exactly sure, but I think we're at the stage of hating each other?" Much to his surprise, Lauren smiled and let out a laugh. "I am almost certain that you don't hate each other," professor Greyson said smiling. "I really have no clue, I know that sounds really bad but Oh well," Lauren shrugged, smiling back. "Would you like to come to my office for some tea?" he asked pleasently, smiling again. Lauren felt taken aback, he'd always favourited the marauders, they were his friends and Lauren wasn't really anything, apart from his student. "I would like to but I'm tutoring Peter in the library, sorry," Lauren told him. "Not at all! I'm glad that you're helping him, we'll have tea another time perhaps," he gushed, adjusting his glasses again. "Yeah, thanks. I'm really sorry but I don't wanna be late," she pointed in the direction of the library and smiled awkwardly. "Oh, of course not! Don't let me hold you up, I'll see you next lesson," "Oh, er, thanks. Yeah, I'll see you then," Lauren replied, scooting around his crimson robes and striding over to the double wooden doors leading to the library. "Oh, Lauren?" Lauren spun around, her fair eyebrows raised and expectant. "Don't forget that there's a fine line between love and hate," Tilting her head, she felt her eyebrows pull together and Professor Greyson held her gaze, smiling at her confused look.  
"I, er, I won't," Lauren told him, her voice sounding very puzzled. Then, without another word, he strode off into the sunlight draped grounds, his crimson clothes flowing out behind him.

Gaping at her professor, Lauren pushed open the double doors, with smooth brass handles, and walked inside. The library was lined with wooden bookcases, the books were tattered and tea stained, a couple of antique wooden desks were placed around, each one covered with a different colour of leather on top and swirling gold patterns around the edges, down each isle, thousands of books were placed, sorted into their subject. A iron, gold gate seperatred the rest of the library from the ristricted section, you needed a teacher to sign a permisson slip to get into it, all the books were bound in rich leather, from black to indigo, and had gold or silver lettering, they were in prestine condition from lack of use and they had always tempted her. Lauren had tried to get permission regularly but she was always declined, the books inside included ones on Dark Magic, Werewolves, which she longed to read, and on the consiquences of wrong spells, apparation and wrong potions. Crossing over, she found Peter sitting at a wooden, antique desk with brass, engraved handles and crimson leather lining the top with gold swirls decorating the edges. Much to her dispair, the rest of the marauders were with him but no sign of Lily, she was probably off with her other friends, they were all gathered round, Peter sitting on a wooden chair with carvings crawling down the legs, James sitting on the desk itself, Remus standing polietly and Sirius slumped against the desk, half standing half sitting. Sighing, she walked over to where they were and four pairs of eyes shot up and trained on her; dull brown, stormy grey, and two pairs of warm hazel. She smiled sweetly at James, Remus and Peter, blocking Sirius out completely, she felt a familiar gaze upon her but she tried to ignore it. "Hey, Lauren," Peter greeted, his dull eyes warming at the sight of her. "Hey," She replied, absent mindedly, her brain was still musing over what Professor Greyson had told her. "We'll be off then," James said, jumping up off the table and pulling his bag on,"see you guys later," Remus and Sirius followed him, Lauren flixed her teal eyes on the wooden floor as she felt Sirius trying to catch her eye. After they'd bustled out of the library, very rowdy, she pulled out a wooden chair with engravings climbing up the legs and sat down, smiling warmly at Peter. "Okay, what subject do you wanna study?" Lauren asked, her smile fixed into place. "I, er, I don't mind," Peter squeaked, smiling shyly and blushing a little. "I think we'll study potions, since we have an essay on felix, that's where we'll start," she instructed, pulling out her emerald textbook and flipping over the creamy pages until she reached on with 'Felix' printed in black, itallic writing. Sliding it into the middle of her and Peter, she scanned the paragraphs and told him to read it. Lauren slipped out some parchment, her quill and an ink vile, her teal eyes watching Peter's dull ones read the page, it was clear he wasn't soaking anything in. "You need to know what Felix does, the ingredients and a bit of background information," Lauren told him,"I think we'll start with what it does and the information. Felix is a potion that lifts you mood, it instantly makes you feel better but when it wares away, you feel worse than ever. It was used by healers to help people with injuries but they made it illegal because the patient would feel better for a couple of hours but when it wore away they would feel worse and things would take a downward spiral. It is mainly used by people who are grieving or in depression but it always makes the situation worse, felix is fine if you're just looking for extra happiness. Like if me or you took some, we'd be really happy but then return to our normal state when the effects wore off, I guess the only way to compare it is to being hyper," Lauren told him, he was trying his best to listen but his brown eyes would glaze over and he'd get distracted. His was staring out of the nearest window, sunlight was pouring through, his eyes looked like glass and he wore an airy expression. "Peter!" Lauren snapped, clicking her fingers in front of his face. "Oh, er, sorry," he mumbled, his cheeks glowing crimson. Sighing, Lauren rubbed her forehead and exhaled loudly. "You've got to try and concentrate, I know that you find it difficult but I can't help you if you don't!" "I know, er, sorry," his eyes glazed over again, Lauren had seen this look too many times, first Lily, then Rue now Peter. "Peter, who are you crushing on?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes gliding over his face. He squirmed under her gaze and sunk lower into his chair, his cheeks glowing crimson.  
"No one," he mumbled, his cheeks growing deeper red. "Peter, you can tell me. I promise that I won't tell anyone else," she replied, smiling warmly. "I haven't told the others yet," Peter admitted, smiling shyly. "Why not?" "I don't exactly know, I've just felt like I, like I can't," Peter replied. "Well, don't feel forced to tell them or me, I want to help you but I can't if you won't let me," She soothed, smiling. "Do, do you know Alice?" Peter whispered, his brown eyes darting around. "Yeah, she's very pretty," Lauren whispered back smiling, he nodded and blushed. "Are you gonna tell the others?" "I don't, I'm not sure I can," Peter hissed. "They're your friends and I know they can be irritating but you've got to trust them," "I know, just not yet. I will tell them, I promise," Peter assured her, smiling. "Well, alright. I'm really sorry but I've got to go," Lauren apologised, shoving her things into her bag. Turning around, she slung her bag onto her shoulder and walked over to the doors. "Lauren?" She spun around, Peter was closer than she thought, their noses were almost touching. She lept back, smiling awkwardly and apologising. "Yes?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. "Why do you suddenly hate Sirius?" Grinning, she spun back around, adjusted her tie, and strode out of the library, laughing.

Still laughing, she crossed the gleeming, entrance hall, the low buzz of a few conversations ecoing from the hall, descended into the dungeons, where goosebumps prickled her arms, and into the common room. Regulus was sitting on an emerald rug, staring intently into the roaring fire, the embers creaking and filling the silence. Lauren walked over, her chestnut hair flying out behind her like a silky flag, and sat down next to him. Smiling, she threw her bag by the fire and turned towards her best friend, who was already smiling at her. "What's with the grin?" Regulus asked, his stormy eyes misted by the orange flames. "Is there a limit on how many times someone can be asked something in one day?" Lauren mused, her teal eyes glazing over and looking like glass. "I don't think so," Regulus replied, his curved, black eyebrows dipped,"Why?"  
"I think there should be," she suggested, feeling the warmth from the fire hit her face. "Er, okay. Anyway, do you wanna know where Alex is?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows. Casting her eyes around the room, she saw that Regulus was right, Alex wasn't here and Rue was tucked into a small corner her quill scratching across creamy-brown parchment. "How come you know and I don't?" Lauren quizzed, rubbing her hands together and holding them, palms faced, towards the blazing fire.  
"Because I was there and you were off tutoring Peter in the library," Regulus explained, rolling his eyes at her. "Tell me what happened!" Lauren demanded, turning to face him completely and setting her piercing gaze. "Alex went off with Dean. He walked over to where he and Rue were sitting, asked her and they went off, no ones seen them since," he explained, using his hands to act out the sceene. "Really? I wonder where they went," she asked, more to herself than anyone else. "Maybe they're in a broomcloset, I hear Gryffindor tower has loads of them!" "You just happened to hear?"  
"I don't just ask where they are! I heard the boys in my dorm talking about them," Regulus defended, holding up his hands. "Of course you don't. Hey! You can date Malfoy!" Regulus grabbed a fluffy, emerald pillow and threw it into Lauren's face, it hit her on the cheek, she lost her balance and fell to the soft, black carpet. Sitting up, her hair ruffled and static, she scowled at her best friend and smoothed out her chestnut hair. "Don't scowl at me, you're the one that said I could date Malfoy!" he accused, a smile pulling at his lips. Lauren and Regulus both erupted in laughter at the same time, Regulus was leant against the velvet couch and Lauren was clutching her stomach, bent forward. "Okay, Okay," Lauren gasped through fits of laughter,"Not Malfoy," Lauren and Regulus laughed and talked for ages, showing how strong their friendship was. He had called her a blood tratior out of spite and, though it had taken over a year, she had forgiven him, Regulus was like another brother to her, they were close and he was the only person she could truely tell anything. When Sirius had stopped talking to him in his first year, Lauren was there to soften the blow, she assured him. One night, a couple of days after the sorting, Lauren had found a small, first year Regulus crying in the corner of the common room in the middle of the night, she cheered him up, she reassured him that everything would be alright, they stayed up all night, talking and laughing, their friendship was born then and there. The next day, they were both completely exhausted but neither minded, Lauren had taken Sirius' place and acted as an older sibling but as they grew up, Regulus became the protective one, he became the one that would evil guys when they looked at her and would cheer her up, the clicked perfectly. Dinner came and went, it was mostly a blur, Lauren eat, drank and chatted, not really taking anything in. The hours seemed to pass like minutes, they were still sat on that emerald rug by the roaring fire many hours after coming back from dinner, it was nine and they were still laughing, Lauren was pairing people with him. They both shared things that they wouldn't dream of telling anyone else, both Sirius and Regulus had told her what happened when he was sorted, Lauren shared extremely private details of her life before Hogwarts and her massive crush on Finnick, which made Regulus roar with laughter. At half nine, Alex and Rue decided to break them up as they had astronomy next. "Lauren, sorry but we've got to go to our lesson," Rue interupted, her huge, chocolate eyes swimming with warmth. "Yeah, we should go," Lauren replied, standing up and slinging her material bag over her shoulder. "Alright, see you later," Regulus said, smiling at his best friend.

CHAPTER 31: CLASS AT 9

The two girls ascended the spiralling, stone staircase, the freezing tongues of lice licking their exposed arms and englufing their legs, the sharp frost biting at their faces and the whipping wind swirling and dancing around them, pulling them in. Lauren pulled her black, school robe tighter, winding it around her body and making it cling to her frozen skin. Other students were strolling behind, muttering through chattering teeth and desperate for those last scraps of bpdy warmth, clambering up the steps, pushing and shoving. With goosebumps prickling her arms, Lauren remembered that her dream had felt exactly like this, one of her many dreams, except she was the only one around and she wasn't going to class. Shoving her icy hands into her silky pockets, she felt sharp pains shooting in her legs, they were beginning to ache and they'd only climbed half way up the tower. The numbing, winter wind was getting stronger the closer they got to the top, throwing icy gusts at their fragile bodies and delicate faces, making the tiny hairs on the back of their necks stand up. Lauren folded her arms across her chest in an attempt to huddle together and cling to the last embers of fire in her body but they were slowly dying out and flickering away, like trying to reach out and grasp the air. Hurrying along, Lauren thrust open the thick, wooden door and walked out onto the cold, grey stone floor. Gazing upwards, she saw the tiny gems twinkling in the vast darkness, they looked like flames, ghostly, silvery flames, the moon appeared to be made of pure silver, draping the tower in icy mist and surronding it in a shield of silver light. Every star, no matter how big or how small, could be seen from here, the different constilations swirling above their heads, compacted shapes of silver. The cold air filled her nostrils and her mouth, sending sharp pains to her chest when she inhaled too deep, the tips of her fingers prickled and numbed, the low mutters of the students absorbed into the twirling wind. Crossing the smooth, stone floor and keeping her teal eyes glued upwards, she picked a glossy, gold telescope and leant against the grey stone of the tower wall. Across from her, Sirius was admiring how her eyes looked exactly like the stars, if you put them next to each other, only a real expert could tell the difference and even then, he'd have trouble. The stone was freezing against her back, spreading from the base of her neck to the tip of her spine, engulfing everything in it's path. Hoping from one leg to another, she shrugged her green bag off her shoulder and chucked it onto the stone floor, watching as it fell over. Suddenly, the wooden door flew open, Alex shuffled over to where her two friends were standing, by reflective gold telescopes, and took a space next to Rue, met with quizzing looks from her friends. "Right class, now we're all here, we'll start," Professor Del-Monaco said , she was a tall, thin woman, with pretruding jaw and cheek bones that made her look almost skeletal, she wore cosy, frumpy jumpers of deep colours and long, flowy skirts that drowned her fragile, skinny frame. Today she was wearing a crimson, woolen jumper with a pattern stitched across the front, though what that pattern was, Lauren had no idea, a flowy, shiffon, emerald skirt with her usual bulky rings and pearls decorating her bony, long fingers and her elongated neck. Her hair was dirty blond and immensly frizzy, the small curls bounded out at all angles, it looked like a lions mane, she'd pushed back her fringe with a navy, silk headband and her huge, watery blue eyes were magnified at least three times by her black, rectangular glasses. A strange sight but a friendly woman none the less that always wore a friendly smile and was willing to help at all costs, Lauren really liked her because she wasn't afraid to be different to the other teachers and she stood her ground. "I'm going to give you this lesson to located the planets that I've given to you on the sheet, there should be one by every telescope," Lauren picked up a smooth, silky piece of paper with, 'Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Earth, Venus, Uranus, and Pluto in brackets'. "Now, can anyone tell me why Pluto is in brackets?" Professor asked, glancing her huge eyes around the very tired-looking students. As per usual, Lauren's pale arm shot straight up and her teal eyes were alight with eagerness. "Yes, Miss Colt," "Because Pluto is officially to small to be a planet, scientists call it a 'dwarf planet' and it acts differently than the other planets," Lauren gushed, a smile playing on her lips. "Very good! Now, Venus is significant because..." She prompted, her pears jangling as she turned her maned head around the tower. "Mr Lupin?" "Because it is the only planet to be named after a woman," Remus replied, smiling warmly with his hazel, gold flecked eyes.  
"Well done, I can see this group is very talented! Now, please locate them and draw them," she finished, walking back to her original place and leaning against the stone wall, if she wasn't wearing such vibrant clothes, she'd blend in. Suddenly, Lauren felt heat coursing through her vanes, stretching to every pocket of her body, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks and was aware of her eye-lids becoming very heavy. Desperate to stay awake, she started pulling off her long, black robe and trying to face towards the bitter wind, that felt like a warm summers breeze now. "Lauren, what are you doing?!" Alex hissed, her sky eyes wide, turning away from the gold telescope and watching her friend. "It's too hot," Lauren complained, rubbing her head. She could vaguely feel the once icy wind gusting against her body but it just felt like warm air was being pushed into her. "What are you talking about?" Rue asked, her chocolate eyes swimming with concern,"It's just gone nine and it's like minus three!" "My head is burning though," She moaned, placing her forehead against the cool, stone wall and evaporating as it hit the hot surface. "Lauren, are you alright?" Alex asked, concern washing over her as she watched Lauren trying to cool her pale face. Tentively, Rue raised a copper hand to her pale face and pressed it against her forehead. Almost at once, Rue yanked it back again and felt it against her own. "That's impossible!" Rue gasped, examining her own hand, turning it over and over. "Why? What's wrong?!" Alex quizzed, forgetting about her work entirely and abandoning her shiny telescope and smooth sheet. "Her forehead is burning, it must be at least ten degrees hotter than here," Rue replied, not taking her huge eyes off of Lauren. "But she's as pale as snow still! How can she be boiling hot and still pale, she should've gone red, shouldn't she?" Rue mused over this, her eyebrows creased and her mouth stretched into a thin line. Finally, she raised her tanned hand once again, pushed her black cloak up and felt it against Lauren's arm, that was as pale as her face. Again, she pulled it back instantly, confusion and concern washing over her face. "Now, that is impossible!" Rue exclaimed, her plump, reddy-brown lips parted in shock. Lauren just sat there, feeling warmth spreading around her upper body, mainly in her cheeks, her diamond eyes kept fluttering shut and she had her head pressed against the freezing, hard rock, in an attempt to cool herself down but nothing was working. "What, are her arms cold?" Alex asked, an urgent-ness to her voice. "No, her arms are boiling as well!" Groaning, Lauren held her burnind head in her sweaty, warm hands, rocking slightly as she felt the strange heat moving around her once-icy body, twirling and spinning with her blood. "Miss Brunelle! How do you expect to idenitify the planets with your back to the telescope and your sheet laying un-touched?" Professor Del-Monaco screeched, her watery eyes even bigger then usual, it looked like her head was being squeazed and they were being forced to pop out of her skull. "Sorry, Professor, it's just-" Alex cut off when she saw Lauren frowning at her deeply with a fierce-ness in her twinkling, cobolt eyes. "Just what, Miss Brunelle?" she quizzed, her glasses being knocked off their place by a frown. "Nothing, sorry Professor," Alex mumbled, picking up her disgarded sheet and placing a sky eye into the glass of the telescope, moving it in slight motions with the tips of her fingers. She nodded at her disgruntled student accepting the apology and stalked back over to the other side of the tower, where she could watch all of the students at the same time. Lauren and Rue mimicked Alex, though Lauren's head was pounding like a heart-beat and she couldn't focus on something for more than ten seconds. Sighing, she massaged her forehead as she scrached another name onto the sheet, not really talking the information in. "Why didn't you tell her?" Alex asked, calm but curious,"she could've sent you to the nurse or something," "I don't want to go to Madam Pomfrey, It's not killing me and I bet it's only because I'm tired, I'll be back to normal tomorrow," Lauren replied, scanning the vast darkness once more and writing down another name and location. "If you say so," Alex told her, eyeing her skeptically,"If you're not, we're taking you to the medical ward, no arguments," "Fine, Fine, whatever," Lauren dismissed, waving a pale hand,"Anyway, where did you go?" Alex's usually tanned cheeks went a little pink and it was slowly deepening as the seconds dragged on, Lauren guessed that the reason to this was that the memeory was flooding though her mind. "I went with Dean," Alex tried to cool her cheeks but the rose colour was now more like crimson and she wouldn't meet her friends quizzing eyes. "And..." Rue prompted, raising her perfect sculpted, black eyebrows. Alex took a long exhale, the colour still growing and turned her head towards her friends, her blond, ringletted hair swishing around as she did. "Okay, you guys have to promise not to tell anyone. I said that I wouldn't but you guys are my best friends and you're amazing at getting information, especially you, Lauren," Alex gushed, almost all in one breath. Lauren felt the sudden heat wash from her mind, although it was still raging strong, like a fire, her mind was swimming with ideas of what Alex was talking about. "Yeah, we promise," Rue hurried her words, her eyes eager and expectant and her mouth slightly parted, ready to reply. "I, well I, kind of," she lowered her voice, Lauren and Rue had to lean in to hear and even then, it was quiet,"kissed Dean." Lauren felt her jaw drop open and her eyes widen, Rue was staring, her eyes equally as large, though she had the advantage, and her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hair line. No one said anything, the silence was eerie, each of their minds filing with thoughts. Rue was the first to recover, she slowly closed her mouth and her eyes returned to their usual size, which was still pretty big. "Where? When? What happened? Did he kiss you or did you kiss him?" Rue quizzed, each question flying out as the last letter of the previous one had touched her lips. "Rue, choose a question to ask first," Lauren told her friend, missing what she'd asked completely. "Er, Where did you kiss him?" Rue asked, her tanned face expectant and her eyes large omce again, as if 'kiss' was a rude word, a cuss word, something forbidden, maybe it was to Rue but to normal people it was used without hesitation. "Well, after we left, we strolled around the whole of the ground and reached the edge of the forbidden forest-"  
"You didn't go in there, surely?!" Rue gasped. "No, it's forbidden," Alex replied, irrated that Rue had interupted. "I've been in there, it's not that scary and I really don't see why they forbid it," Lauren revealed, shrugging it off. "When?! I can't believe you've been inside there, it strictly states that students aren't allowed," Rue gasped. "Well, in first year, I'd found the kitchens, that one was easy and everyone thought I was innocent which helped, I was bored and I explored it, you wouldn't believe what creatures live in there," Lauren shrugged. "You've been in the kitchens?! In first year!" "Yeah, I was the first," Lauren replied, sounding almost bored, as though she'd told this story a million times.  
"Even before the marauders?" Alex gasped, a smile flickering across her lips. "Yeah but that's not important, back to your story," Lauren reminded them, smiling. "Er, so yeah, we kissed on the outskirts," Alex mumbled, still blushing. "Did you kiss him or did he kiss you?" Rue blurted out. "Well, he sort of turned to me and I turned at the same time, I guess he kissed me because he leant in to me and therefore kissed me," Alex replied, frowning and smiling at the same time. "Oh!" Rue squealed, earning dirty looks from the students around them,"That's adorable! she was pratically bounding up and down with excitment, Lauren on the other hand was more composed. "What was it like?" She hissed, her nose twitching slightly as her imagination fabricated something she didn't want to see. "I don't know, It was sort of..." Alex mused for a minute, thinking back,"wet," "Ew!" Rue squealed, covering her hands over her mouth straight afterwards. "Miss Avea, is there a problem?" Professor Del-Monaco's screech came, her orb-like eyes trained on the three girls. She strode over, her pearls jangling, and snatched up Rue's pratically empty sheet. "Er, no professor," Rue whispered, blushing slightly. "You think this is exceptable?" she asked, waving Rue's sheet in front of her and pushing her glasses back up. "And you too, Miss Colt," she continued, snatching up Lauren's sheet as well and comparing them. "No professor," Lauren answered, trying to keep her giggles contained. "Right, we have about twenty-five minutes left, if these star charts aren't completed than you will have to complete them at lunch with me, understood?" She was pointing a long, bony finger at the two girls and her fair eyebrows were knitted together. "Yes, Professor," Lauren droaned, taking back her star chart and plotting the planets as quickly as she could. After her and Rue worked furiously, their star charts were finally finished as eleven o'clock hit and Professor Del-Monaco dismissed them. Handing in their work, they both smiled sweetly at her and watched her as she checked their work. "Very good, girls. Next time, please try and complete the work quicker," Professor told them and waved a bony hand, signalling for them to go. The heat washed over Lauren again, her head was pounding furiously and her palms felt very sticky and sore when she pulled them onto fists to keep herself awake, her breaths were either too deep or too shallow and her eyes kept flickering shut. Rubbing her head, she rushed over to the wooden door, threw it open and dragged Rue down the stairs as quickly as she could, missing a few stone steps. Alex was waiting at the bottom of the staircase for them, her ringletted hair pushed over her shoulders and her arms crossed over her chest. Leaning on the stone wall for support, Lauren fanned herself with a pale hand and tipped her head back, her forehead burning and getting hotter as the seconds passed. "Lauren, are you alright?" Alex asked, rushing over to her. "Yeah, I'm fine," Lauren replied, pressing her face against the cool stone. "Listen, if this gets any worse we're going to have to go to Madam Pom-"  
"I don't need her, I'm just tired," Lauren grumbled, stumbling over to the other wooden door and walking back to the common room.

"Knockturn," Lauren hissed to the portraite, her head banging against her skull. It swung open, revealing a rather dark and dingy room that made the shrieking shack look inviting, even though Lauren knew why it was named that, it was still creepy, plush emerald sofa's littered the room, comfy and prestine, the orange flames of the fire were roaring and the embers were creaking, silver light was pouring through the emerald stain-glass windows and the room was basically deserted. Crossing the room with a scattering of first years sitting in the corner, they climbed the marble staircase and walked through the corridor. Moonlight draped everything at Hogwarts, making the fairytale castle look mesmerising, it gave an eerie, silver mist to objects and gave everything a ghostly feel. Opening the thick, wooden door to their dormitory to see that Pansy and Annabeth had already arrived. Lauren crossed over to her bed, pulled back the emerald drapes and collapsed onto her bed, the warmth surging through her body again. "Lauren, are you alright?" Alex asked, the worry in her voice breaking through. "Yeah," She replied, flopping out onto her covers and basking in the coldness of them. "Remember what I said-"  
"I know, Alex. If I don't get better, we'll go to Madam Pomfrey, I promise," Lauren injected, dragging herself up into a sitting position. "It's half eleven already! Stupid classes, why do they have to be at night?" Alex complained, rolling off her bed and walking to the bathroom. "Because the stars and planets are more visible at night," Rue told her intelligently, smiling. "I know, Rue," Alex snapped from the bathroom. Shrugging, Lauren pulled on her soft, comfy pajamas. After she'd brushed her teeth, washed her face and combed her hair, there was no point really, she climbed into her welcoming bed but immediatly felt too hot. "What have we got tomorrow?" Lauren asked, pushing the unwanted covers away and sighing. "We've got double potions first-" Rue started. "Potions again?" Alex groaned, it was her worst subject,"What is with the constant potions this year?" "Well, they want as many people to take it as one of their options and I guess they're starting off early to be sure," Lauren suggested, sighing as she realised she would have to sit next to Sirius. "I'm definetly not! Nor am I taking Herbology, I want to take Care of Magical Creatures most," Alex replied.  
"What are you going to do with Care of Magical Creatures?" Rue quizzed, remembering when she'd called Herbology 'fancy gardening'.  
"I want to be either a professor or I want to tame dragons," she admitted, smiling. "What do you want to be, Rue?" Lauren asked, realising she wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. "Oh, I want to work at the Minsitry," Rue replied, smiling warmly,"you?" Lauren mused on whether to tell them or not. "I want to be an auror," she lied, keeping her smile in place. "Really? Why?" Alex asked, Lauren stayed silent, musing. "I don't really," she admitted,"I just say that to keep my parents happy," "What? Why would you need to lie?" Rue asked. "Because auror's are respected, you need to be really smart to become one and everyone knows it," Lauren explained. "So, what do you really wanna be?" Alex quizzed, a smile playing on her lips. "I want to be a professional Qudditch player," Lauren blushed as she said these words, she'd never told anyone before. "What? Like beater for a team?" Neither Alex or Rue knew much about the sport, except that Lauren was obsessed with it and played beater. "Yeah, I would name some but you guys would have no idea what I was talking about," Lauren shrugged, smiling. "True, but you should do what you want to," Rue reassured her. Lauren sighed, her head was pounding, she was sweating and her eyes were fluttering. "We should all get some sleep!" Alex suggested, snuggling down into her covers. "Yeah, See you guys in the morning," Rue added. "Yeah," Lauren breathed, falling asleep almost instantly.

"LAUREN, RUE GET UP!" Alex screeched, Lauren tumbled slightly in her bed, grabbing onto one of the wooden posters for support, she managed to only thump the floor lightly but it hurt all the same. Rubbing her head, she noticed Alex's amused face and scowled at her best friend. Standing up, she dusted herself off and slowly started to get dressed for school, still scowling. The woolen tights felt soft against her skin and the shirts silky-ish material soothed the irritated skin where she'd tossed and turned in the night, after pulling her black jumper of her head, she studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was as flicky as ever but she'd given up with that ages ago and she was a sickly pale colour, her teal eyes were misted with sleep and spots still dotted her cheeks. Combing through her silky, chestnut hair, she threw it over her shoulders and studied her timetable; Double potions, double Herbology and double DADA. Throwing the right books into her bag with her eagle feather quill, an ink pot and parchment, she zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder. Lauren crossed the room to where Alex and Rue were bustling away, grabbing everythng they needed and combing their hair frantically, Pansy and Annabeth were still alseep and stirred occasionally when a draw banged or a footstep thudded against the cream carpet. Creeping out, Lauren, Alex and Rue headed for the hall, closing the wooden door as quiely as possible behind them. Silently walking through the marble corridor, they crossed the common room, which looked strangly eerier in daylight, through the dungeons, which wasn't a particually pleasent walk and were spat into the polished, marble entrance hall. Gliding through the tall, wooden doors, they took their seats at the Slytherin table, Lauren's head starting to pound again, it felt like someone was using her head as a drum. Sinking into her chair, Lauren admired the foods but left her plate empty, her hands looked and felt like they'd just been dunked in water, drips of sweat were trickling down her neck and forehead and her teal eyes kept dazing from focused to unfocused and vise versa. Staring at the foods, she felt sick rising in her throat and opted for pumpkin juice instead, the gold goblet felt smooth in her hand and glinted under the rising, crimson sun. Regulus was talking to a boy in his year, he had the height advantage, though he was only a couple of inches taller, he had ruffled, tawny hair and deep, brown eyes, they looked like tunnels and it would be easy to get lost in their depth. He was slightly more musclier than Regulus but it was subtle and natural, his angular jaw complemented his pale face and Lauren thought he was very attractive, considering he was a year younger than her. They were deep in conversation about Qudditch, Lauren figured that the third year girls had noticed the strangers good looks too because they were huddled in a circle, hissing, whispering and giggling, but he seemed to be oblivious to all this, with his back to them entirely. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she observed him shooting them quizzing looks and rolling his eyes to Regulus, he'd pointed with his eyes to them occasionally and they'd chuckled together. "Morning, Lauren," Regulus greeted, turning back around to shove more fried eggs onto his plate. "Morning, you're going to be ill eating all those, you know," Lauren told him, pointing with her teal eyes to his gold plate pilled with eggs. "It'll match his mental state then," The stranger injected, him and Lauren laughed while Regulus scowled at them both. "You seem to be popular," Lauren commented, glancing over to the giggling and whispering girls. "Oh," he rolled his eyes,"their constant laughing and whispering really annoys me," He told her, smiling warmly, plunging her into the chocolate depth of his eyes. "Yeah, that must get annoying," Lauren told him, taking another sip from her gold goblet and smiling. "Seriously, everywhere he goes, there's always a giggling group of girls!" Regulus sighed, stuffing eggs into his mouth. "Awh, are you jealous Regulus?" She teased, pouting her lower lip. "No, I find it very annoying all have you know," He shot back, poking her pretruding lip. Batting away his hand, she took another gulp of juice and felt it slide down her throat. "I'm Barty Crouch, by the way," The stranger introduced himself, smiling warmly at Lauren, his eyes pulling her in, like a rope was tied around her waist. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lauren Colt," she replied, turning the smile but Lauren was sure her eyes looked no where near as impressive. "Likewise. I was waiting for Regulus to introduce us but apparently not," Barty commented, eyeing his friend. "No, he's too busy giving himself a heart-attack," Lauren added, pulling the plate of eggs away, the sight made her feel sick to her stomach. "I was eating those!" Regulus exclaimed, reaching for them and nearly pushing Lauren off her chair, even though he was a year younger, he was a lot taller and stronger. Pushing them up the other end of the emerald draped table, Lauren turned back to Regulus and Barty, smiling. Regulus sighed and folded his arms across his chest, sulking. "I haven't seen you before, are you new?" Lauren asked, curiously. "No, I just use to hang around with a different group of people, they were quiet and I just blended in," He explained. "What, now you friends with Regulus? Good luck," Lauren scoffed and laughed. "I don't want to but he's forcing me, I'm being paid a lot of money," Barty told her and winked. "Awh! I don't get a lot of money, for merlin's sake, Regulus!" Lauren exclaimed and pursed her lips. "See? Now look what you did, Bart! She wants more money now too and I'm not made of the stuff!" Regulus blamed and winked at them. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Barty joked, holding up his hands and beaming at Lauren and Regulus. The three of them erupted in laughter, Lauren's eyes twinklng, Regulus's misting and Barty's deepening like a tunnel. "Anyway, what have you got first, Lauren?" Regulus asked, smiling at his best friend. "Er, double potions. What about you guys?" Lauren replied. "We have double History of Magic," Barty told her, rolling his eyes,"Have you noticed how my eyes deepen, Regulus's mist over and yours kinda shine?" he asked, smiling at them both. "What do you mean shine?" Lauren asked, feeling very confused. "I guess they kinda twinkle, like stars," Barty replied, smiling. "Ew! Stop hitting on my best friend!" Regulus exlcaimed, laughing. "I wasn't! I promise, I was just saying..." Barty stuttered, his cheeks tinged crimson. "I know. Er, thanks, your eyes are really deep," she replied, smiling warmly at him. "Ew! She's flirting back!" "Regulus, shut up! I was only returning the compliment," Lauren told him, her cheeks turning slightly red. "Whatever you guys say..." He told them and smirked at their red cheeks.  
"He told you yoir eyes misted over and he wasn't flirting with you!" Lauren shot back. "Or was he?" Regulus asked, waggling his eyebrows. "No," Barty and Lauren said in sync and laughed. "Okay, if you guys are done flirting, I think we have lessons to get to," Regulus injected, still laughing. "Shut up, Regulus," "See you guys later then," Lauren called as Regulus and Barty walked out of the hall. "Bye, Lauren!" Barty called back, hitting Regulus who was laughing again.

CHAPTER 32: AN ALLERGIC REACTION AND GUESS WHO'S TO BLAME

Lauren, Alex and Rue entered the dungeons in completely different moods; Rue was looking forward to potions, Alex was dreading it and using every cuss word she could think of to describe it and Lauren felt a contrast, she was dreading potions, but she didn't know why, but she was in good spirits about meeting Barty and a smile pulled at her lips as she thought about all those whispering and giggling girls. Goosebumps climbing up her arms, Lauren reached the potions classroom and took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Push. The tall, heavy door swung open, only a few students were sitting at their desks, mostly Gryffindor's as Slytherin had more troublemakers. Him. Why did he have to get here early? He was never early! Crossing the room, Lauren dumped her bag on the wooden desk, pulled out the cold, metal chair and sat down. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Warmth. The same warmth as last night was creeping up her whole body, tongues of fire were licking her and engulfing her, it hit her stomach first, her hands were sweaty and sore as she frantically rubbed them against the soft material of her cloak, her forehead became sticky, sweat dripping down from it, like a tear, trickling and dripping. Her whole body began to ache, the dull pains stretching around her body, reaching every tip and base, sharp pains jabbing her chest and forehead, she felt some liquid crawling up her throat, Lauren had no idea what was wrong with her but something was definetly wrong. Pain. Ache. Sickness. Warmth. Pain. Ache. Sickness. Warmth. It was like a song stuck on repeat, again and again, relentless and continuous, always in that order, always worse the next time the sequence hit. Groaning, she put her head on the wooden desk, that provided only warmth, and felt the sequence rage inside her body, like a roaring fire, again and again, making her ache and writher in pain and dull and warm. She let out a small cry of pain when an exceptionally sharp pain hit her head, she was sure that no one had heard but someone did, and it had to be him, always him. Him. "Lauren, are you alright?" Sirius asked, his voice kind and gentil. Why was he being kind? Why did he care? All she'd done was be rude and horrible to him, he repayed her with kindness? She couldn't find the will power to speak, surging down into the depths of herself, she found nothing, her mouth wouldn't obey her. Lauren nodded but even that was weak and feeble, it was barely anything. Pains were jabbing her head like someone was sticking needles into it, each one more painful than the last, even when it had escelated so much she thought it couldn't hurt anymore, it always did. Feeling a prod in her arm, she lifted her head off of the desk, that provided no comfort to her burning head, and looked straight into the stormy, concerned eyes of Sirius Black. The kind that made her stomach flutter, which at this point wasn't helpful. Scowling, she turned her teal eyes towards the board but they wouldn't focus, everything became blured, her eyelids kept fluttering shut, nothing would stay still. "Settle down, please!" The crimson, blured figure of Professor Greyson came into view,"Miss Brunelle, please be quiet, Mr Malfoy stop that at once! Mr Potter leave her alone!" All the shouting just made Lauren's head bang more, she felt like she'd hit it against a brick wall repeatedly for about fifteen minutes, all the thoughts and visions merged together, nothing made sense anymore. Shrugging her cloak off, she massaged her temples where the pains were hitting her. "What are you doing?!" Sirius hissed at her, not helping with the pains striking her head at all. "I'm boiling," Lauren complained, wiping sweat from her forehead with the cuff of her jumper. Sirius turned to face her completely, ignoring Professor Greyson and training his stormy eyes on Lauren. "But it's freezing in here, like it always is. The dungeons are the coldest part of the castle," Sirius told her, confusion flittering across his face. "No, It's not cold at all! I'm boiling," She countered, holding a pale hand against her forehead. "Lauren, listen to me, the dungeons are at the bottom of the castle, you're the brainbox, heat does what, it rises! In theory, this should be the coldest place and it is," Sirius told her. "I know, I know that heat rises and it should be the coldest place but I'm telling you, I'm boiling," Lauren hissed, wincing as another sharp pain stabbed her forehead. Cautiously, his raised his own tanned hand to her forehead and placed it up against the boiling skin. As soon as he had touched the skin, he pulled his hand away and stared at her. "Lauren, you're burning up, give me your hand," Sirius instructed, his shape was blured. Lauren hesitated for a moment, she really didn't want anyone to see her holding his hand but eventually she let him. His touch was oddly delicate for a guy, it was soft and comforting but it only lasted a short moment, just like with her forehead, he'd pulled away instantly. "Er, your hands are freezing," "What?" Lauren grumbled, laying her head on the table again. Sirius nudged her, again and again, until she eventually lifted her head, only to see a piece of creamy parchment being laid down in front of her. The black lettering was blured too, like water had spilled onto the page and the ink had run, her eyes simply wouldn't focus on the text and every time she tried harder sharper pains would hit. The rest of the class had set to work, the sound of quills scratching across paper filled the air, making her head hurt more. Suddenly, a very blured shape came into view, squinting only made her head hurt more but she tolerated it, crimson robes, deep, brown eyes, cropped hair, Greyson. It was like Lauren had water gushing into her eyes, the lines that seperated everything seemed to just vanish, colours, people and desks merged together, forming one long blur of everyone and everything in the classroom. She could hear his voice, droaning on and on, lecturing as always but she only caught odd words, a bit like her sight, it didn't really make much sense. Catching 'friends' 'talking' 'expecting' 'glad' 'his lesson', her eyebrows pulled together. "Lauren, you want to and see Madam Pomfrey?" Words finally getting through, making only slightly more sense than the last ones but she got the gist. It sounded too throaty for Sirius, too mature, that meant that it was Professor Greyson. Shaking her head, she glanced up and everything became worse, the vision blured more, if possible, and black and crimson were merging. "Sir...ill...tower...insisted..." "Take...to...medical...clearly...ill"  
"What...wrong...worried...she...acting...different ly...normal..."  
"Sirius...take...Colt...Madam..." "Lauren...go...medical...you're...ill" The words buzzed around her brain like angry bees, nothing was making sense. Suddenly, she felt that familar soft touch that could only be his and she was walking, slowly, it was more like being pulled, the delicate touch never leaving. A bang hit her ear drums, what caused it Lauren couldn't desipher, the grip got tighter and the pulling got stronger but she still moved at the same slow pace. "Lauren...you...move...faster..." Her vision was still blured but it had to be him, his soft touch, his gentil voice, even his smell, it was him. Squinting, even though the pain was excrucaiting, she saw his sculpted, angular jaw, his angelic features, his floppy, black hair and his stormy grey eyes, that seemed to look straight into her. She commanded her feet to stop, her head was buzzing but she had to apologise for everything, she had been nothing but rude and cruel towards him and he was kind back, he was taking care of her, her cared when he could've just left her. "Lauren...move...for...sake" Sirius groaned, pulling her along, he was too strong, as hard as she tried to dig her heels in, as hard as she tried to pull her arm away, it was useless, he was simply too strong. Calling upon the last scraps of strength, she gathered it up. "Sirius," she breathed, clutching her head as pain struck and made her wince. At first she didn't think he'd heard but the pulling stopped and they stood still. "What...Lauren...?" His words were still jumbled but she guessed he was asking her why she'd stopped him or what she wanted, along those lines. Gasping once more, she forced the words out, determind to tell him how sorry she was. "I need to...I need to...to..." Lauren's words withered and died away with the last of her strength, she couldn't even open her mouth, all the energy had been drained from her like the juice from an orange. Sirius was pulling on her arm, urging her to move, to get her to the medical ward and to Madam Promfrey but she wouldn't budge. Lauren suddeny felt all the weight being lifted from her feet, her head rested against something muscly and her arms were enterwinted, it took her buzzing brain a few minutes to work out what had happened. Sirius had scooped her up in a baby carry, her head was rested against his chest and he was carrying her, her arms were wound around his neck. If Lauren wasn't really ill, she would've enjoyed being this close to the person she loved, enjoyed having his strong arms around her but her brain could barely piece together a sentence. Then it changed, she was being dropped onto a soft, comfy surface but she missed the strenght and assurance of his arms around her. Voices charged through her brain. "What...wrong...her?"  
"Potions...hot...freezing...worried...came...here. ..Lauren...jumbled...complained...blury..." Lauren missed the rest of the conversation, her eyelids had fluttered shut and, not matter how hard she tried, they wouldn't open again. With pain and dull aches and warmth and sweat, she fell into a sleep that was pain-free and she almost felt better.

Silence. Rubbing her eyes, Lauren woke up to complete silence, a rarity in itself, and a dark, shadowed room. Fixing her teal eyes upwards, she saw a plain, cream ceiling, unimpressive compared to the rest of Hogwarts, and everything that happened came flooding back into her mind, potions, feeling ill, pains, dull aches, warmth, sweat, Sirius. Sighing, she remembered how safe and comforting his arms had felt, how he'd carried her, how nice he'd been even though she'd been nothing but horrible and guilt washed over her. There was something she was meant to do, she remembered that she was meant to tell him something and she'd tried but she couldn't, Lauren had forgotten completely what she was suppose to say to him. Proping herself up on her elbows, she scanned her room with her diamond eyes, all the other beds were empty, silver moonlight was pouring through the window and it looked about midnight, the twinkling gems were bright and the sky was pure black. Lauren's head was aching more than pounding now, a dull ache was spreading across the back of her head, she was still too hot and sweat was trickling down the back of her neck, making her chestnut hair stick. Just then something else stabbed her, it wasn't pain or aches, it was emotion. Lauren took a few minutes to work out that it was hurt, it was completely stupid but she felt hurt or even betrayed that Sirius hadn't stayed with her, the logical part of her knew that he would be forced to go back to classes, of course he couldn't stay but no matter how many times she told herself this, it didn't change anything, the hurt kepting stabbing her. Sighing, she flopped back down onto the cosy bed and let all her thoughts and feelings swim through her, everything had messed up again! It was all sorted and it had managed to all go wrong again, why did this keep happening? Voices disturbed her thoughts. "Is Lauren going to be alright?" Lauren recognised that warm, caring voice straight away. George. "Yes, I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with her yet. I'm going to have to wait until your sister wakes up and ask her what she felt and then I can identify what's wrong with her," Madam Pomfrey's calm voice replied. "So, all we can do is wait?" The more blunt and direct voice belonged to Fred. "I've talked to Mr Black and he's told me all he can about what happened, I just need a personal account," Madam Pomfrey told him. "Why? What did Sirius have to do with all of this?" Fred asked. "He sits next to Miss Colt in potions, when she started to feel ill she told him as he was nearest and he brought her here," She replied, her voice stern and soft at the same time. Lauren shifted silently on her bed, resting her head on her pale arm and listened to their conversation once more. "Where did he go? I would've thought he'd of stayed here?" George asked, you could hear the smile in his voice. "He had to go back to his lessons and I suggested you two go back to bed, you won't be excused from lessons tomorrow," she told them, her voice instuctive. "Okay, we'll come back tomorrow if she's not out yet," George told her. Footsteps echoed through the medical ward, the light taps increasing volume on the tiled, sterile floor and a small thud alerted Lauren that her brothers had left. Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room, she was a short, plump woman with cropped, curly hair and a friendly smile, and over to Lauren's bed. "How are you feeling, dear?" she asked, fuffing her pillows and adjusting the white, thin covers. "Er, fine, I think," Lauren mumbled. "Good, now, please talk me through the symptoms you felt," Madam Pomfrey told her, perching on a near-by wooden stool. "Er, I felt too hot, dizzy, ach-y, I had pains in my head, er, drowsy, everything was blury, er, I couldn't really hear what people were saying to me, those kind of ones," Lauren explained, running her fingers through her flicky, chestnut hair. "Hmm, I think you had an allergic reaction to something," Madam Pomfrey mused, frowning slightly,"you say you were in potions?" "Well, yeah but we weren't doing pratical, I'm not really sure what we were doing but no chemicals or anything were in the room," she told her, mirroring her frown. "That's strange, are you sure no chemicals were out or had anyone around you been messing around with chemicals?" "No because it started last night when I was in astrology," Lauren replied. "Then Miss Colt, I have absolouetly no idea what's wrong with you," Lauren blinked pulling her head back sub consiously, her perfectly plucked eyebrows raised and her mouth half open, gawping. "Well, can I go then?" Lauren asked, a smile playing on her thin, pale lips. "No, you're not well and since we don't know what caused it, you can't go," Madam Pomfrey told her, her lips pulled into a thin line. "What if it was a chemical?" Lauren mused, racking her brain, desperate to leave,"Sirius!" she half shouted and was greeted by furious shhh's from Madam Pomfrey. "What about Mr Black?" "What if he was playing a prank, something was on his hands and that's what made me sick?" Lauren gasped. "Because Miss Colt, as you rightly said, you were in a different class when it first hit," She countered. She fell silent, it was a good argument but their had to be some explination. Sighing, Lauren tried one last attempt to get out of the medical ward, it sort of made sense in her head but whether it sounded plausable to anyone else was a completely different matter. "What if they were playing a prank on the Slytherin table? There'd be traces, wouldn't there?" Lauren knew she was clutching at straws, it didn't really make sense to her but Madam Pomfrey's frown soften and her face was expressionless. "I suppose that could be the case," Lauren couldn't believe her ears but if it meant getting out of that place, she would've admitted to murder. "That means I can leave right? I'm not ill anymore and I've been here a while!" she burst out, smiling. "Oh, Miss Colt, you are ill and I simply cannot let you go," Madam Pomfrey told her, sternly. Even though it sounded final, Lauren tried her luck once more, it couldn't hurt right? Jumping up, she felt her head thump but did her best to disguise it, and started pacing back and forth around the room. "See? I'm perfectly fine! Now, please can I go?" Lauren asked, smiling innocently. "Miss Colt, you had an allergic reaction! I can't just let you walk out of here, it might effect you again!" "If it does, I'll come running back, I promise!" Lauren told her, batting her eyelashes. "You didn't look fit to run this morning when Mr Black had to carry you in," she countered. Lauren felt the blood rise to her cheeks and lowered her head, fixing her teal eyes on the sterile floor. "Fine, I'll slide in on my stomach like a snake, better?" Lauren asked, bending her knee and putting a hand on her hip, she'd never acted like that towards a teacher before and felt slightly guilty but she needed to get out of here. "I didn't know you had that in you, Miss Colt," Madam Pomfrey told her, surprised washing over her plump face.  
"Had what in me?" Lauren asked, feeling herself blush. "Never mind," she dismissed, waving her hand. "No, seriously, what?" she asked again, her eyebrows pulling together. "It's just, well sometimes, I see elements of, Sirius in you," Lauren gawped at her, her eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline. "I don't not have elements of him in me! If anything, I'd get it from Fred or George," she shot back, a little more rudely than she'd meant but Madam Pomfrey just smiled. "Alright, Miss Colt, I give up, you may go. As long as you promise to come back as soon as it gets worse," Madam Pomfrey instructed. "I promise," Lauren told her, grabbing her school bag and slinging it over her shoulder.  
"Good, now hurry back to your dorm, it's very late," she told her. Lauren pushed open the tall, woooden doors and walked out into the silvery corridor. Hurrying across the freezing corridors and staricases, she reached the dungeon steps, this place looked exceptionally eerie at night, but there was something beautiful about how the silver light seemed to blend into the gleeming marble that made up the entrance hall. Descending into the dungeons, she was relieved to feel the usual goosebumps prickle her skin and felt a shiver down her spine, pulling her cloak closer, she hurried to the portraite. Whispering the password, and recieving a very dirty look from the portraite, she climbed through and into the dingy common room. The emerald light made it look like acidic flames were licking the walls, the roaring fire was just creeking embers that were slowly dying out and the room was draped in silver. Rushing up the marble staircase, she tip-toed through the corridor and reached her dorm. Lauren pushed the thick, wooden door open and entered. The room was filled with light snores, heavy breaths and the occasional mumer, crossing the room silently, Lauren slipped open the emerald drapes and sat down on her cosy, warm bed. She tugged off her school clothes and pulled on her pajamas, climbed into bed and let the events of that day flood through her head. Surronded by warmth, she soon fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake until the following morning.

"Lauren! Lauren, wake up!" Alex called while shaking her arm viguriously. Fluttering her teal eyes open, Lauren saw her sky-eyed friend standing by her bed and shaking her, it felt like she was trying to shake every bone out of her body. Crimson light was pouring through the window, it looked like someone had spilt blood all over the room, tinging everything a greusome red. Yanking the warm covers off, she jumped up and sleepily began getting dressed, it look her four attempts just to put one sock on and she'd had to twist her jumper around after she'd put it on the wrong way around. After about ten minutes, Lauren was dressed, everything was on and it was on the right way round. Grabbing her material bag, she packed it full of the books she needed for school, from indigo to oure white, and shoved her quill, ink and parchment inside with them. Lauren yawned as she brushed her tangled, chestnut hair, there wasn't a strand that wasn't knotty and it was flickier than usual, if that was even possible, and she'd pulled half of it out by the time she was finished. Stalking to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and washed her face, emerging feeling fresh-faced and truely awake. Rubbing her eyes, she examined her timetable once again; double History of Magic, double Potions and double Herbology, not too bad. Shoving it back into her bag, she met her friends gaze, one sky blue, the other warm brown and smiled. "What? You guys have been staring at me since I got up, what is it?" Lauren asked, straightning her tie and running her fingers though her chestnut hair. "We were just wondering what happened yesterday. What was wrong with you?" Alex told her, smiling warmly. "I had an allergic reaction to some chemical," Lauren shrugged,"I'm all better now though!" "Merlin! Are you sure you're alright? It could be affecting you internally or-" Rue gushed, her eyes swimming with concern. "Rue, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have send me back last night if she thought I was still ill, she knows what's she's doing," Lauren injected. "Exactly, now if we're all finished having panick attacks, let's go eat!" Alex suggested, pulling her robe on. "Yes! I'm actually starving! I can't remember the last time I ate but it was ages ago," Lauren told them, pulling open the thick, wooden door and striding out into the marble corridor. They walked through the cold, eerie common room, up the dungeon steps, which had left goosebumps on their arms as usual, and into the great hall, the warm scent of foods wafting into their nostrils. Lauren, Rue and Alex took their seats at the emerald table, the delicious foods had already arrived and were piping hot. Feeling a strong gaze on her back, Lauren turned her head to see Sirius watching her, his stormy eyes filled with concern. Shaking it off, she pilled yellow scrambled eggs, golden hashbrowns and steaming beans onto her gold plate, that glinted in the crimson light. Shovelling the warm foods into her mouth, she barely even tasted them but the flavours that did reach her tongue tasted better than anything she could've imagined, they burnt a little as they slid down but she was so hungry, she didn't even notice. "Morning fuck-buddy," Regulus greeted, smirking at her. Lauren nearly spat out the sticky pumpkin juice she was drinking, gulping it down, it hurt as that ammount of liquid was being forced down, she placed the smooth, gold goblet back down on the emerald drape and turned to scowl at him. "I thought we'd abandoned that stupid nickname in second year!" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes blazing with fury. "We did but I liked it so much, I've decided to start calling you it again," He told her, shoving a whole fried egg into his mouth. Lauren spun the empty, golden goblet in her fingers, it felt smooth and soft against them, still scowling at her best friend. "Remind me again why we became friends," Lauren sighed, placing the goblet down and jabbing a piece of egg with the gold fork. "Well, I was sorted into Slytherin and the only space was next to you, I ask you said Yes. We talked for the whole of the feast and that's how we got here," he told her, smirking. "Shut up and eat your eggs," Lauren snapped, a smile pulling at her lips. "Yes, fuck-buddy," he replied and saulted to her. Laughing, he began wolfing down whole fried eggs, chewing them less than five times. Lauren frowned at him as he shoved two in his mouth and smiled at her, he knew that she hated this and that stupid nickname but he'd discovered in his first year that she was very easy to wind up and fiesty too. Lauren turned away from him, watching as the sickly-red light slowly turned golden, streaks were showing through the crimson and as the time dragged on they became more vivid. The sky was perfect; clear and bright blue, puffy clouds were floating around like cotton balls and the golden light was getting stronger. Barty joined them a little while later, sighing at the usual group of giggling girls and began eating his cooked breakfast, eyeing Regulus as he swallowed eggs whole. His brown, ruffled hair looked perfectly styled and his chocolate eyes appeared to be deeper this morning, he smiled at Lauren, which made his eyes tunnel more. "Morning, Lauren," he greeted through mouthfulls of beans-on-toast. "Morning," Lauren replied, smiling warmly. "You know she's my fuck-buddy?" Regulus asked, laughing at Barty's shocked expression. "That's not funny!" She snapped, feeling her cheeks going red. "Calm down, my little fuck-buddy, It's only a joke," he teased, poking her red cheeks and smirking as she scowled at him. As much as she tried to keep the scowl in place, she felt her mouth twitch and soon her and Regulus were in fits of laughter, remembering the first time he'd called her that name. Lauren felt like she could be completely herself around him, not that she couldn't around her other friends, but Regulus and her were different, they could laugh and joke about things like that, knowing it wouldn't offend either one of them. They took nothing seriously which meant it would never be awkward, they always knew when the other was joking and they'd made up stupid nicknames in second year for each other. "Lauren, we should get to class," Alex suggested, standing up and pulling her bag on. "Yeah, I'll be right there," she gasped through her laughter. Standing up, she mimicked Alex and turned to her two best friends. "Goodbye my little fuck-buddy!" Regulus called as Lauren walked out of the hall, the ringing laughter meant that she'd heard him.

CHAPTER 33: HISTORY OF MAGIC AND FRENCH

They climbed up the marble staircases, heading towards History of Magic, the portraites greeting them as they passed. The walls were covered with paintings and drawings all placed in expensive frames, the constant talking and whispering could get annoying and if you didn't want to be seen, this wasn't the way to walk but they were friendly all the same. Gold sunlight was pouring through the stain-glass windows, they eached depicted the four house founders, the sky outside was clear and the perfect blue, perfect conditions to play Qudditch, Lauren thought as she climbed another staircase. She missed that more than anything, she hadn't been able to play since her christmas was very hetic and Lauren was seriously considering joining the Slytherin team, she needed to pratice if she wanted to improve. The feeling of soaring high above the ground, the wind whiping through her hair, chilling her face and the thought of playing the game she loved filled her head as she approached the tall, wooden door that led to the History of Magic. The only drawback of joining the Slytherin team was that she would have to play against Sirius and James and Qudditch matches between Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't go well. The ancient rivalry between the two houses meant that the matches were brutal, people cheated and at least three people would get injured, it wasn't a pretty sight at the best of times. One time James was hit the head by a bludger and Sirius punched the Slytherin in the face, it was obviously on purpose and the guy had meant it but they both got in trouble, Sirius for almost breaking his nose and the guy for pure cheating. James was only knocked out for an hour at most but that had only set in stone the pure hatred between them, Lauren was worried that if she had to aim bludgers at them, they might not want to be her friend anymore, or whatever he and Sirius were now. She would have to say something to him, he'd looked after her when she wasn't his to look after, he'd cared when she'd been a complete bitch to him, he'd even carried her to the medical room, but what do you say to someone that thinks you hate them? Racking her brain for an answer, she came up short. Nothing sounded right, it had to be formal and sound like she meant it but not long and rambly, it had to make him realise that she appreciated it but she didn't want him thinking they were best friends again, it was all too difficult. Sighing, she walked into the stuffy, small classroom and took her seat at her wooden desk, relieved that Sirius hadn't arrived yet. Unpacking her stuff, she arranged it on her desk and was just about to take her seat, when a snide voice stopped her. "Well, what have we here? I thought you were ill," He drawled. Lauren spun around, a scowl already set in place and her worst fears were confirmed, the tall, lanky, platnium haired boy stood there, smirking at her. "Get lost, Malfoy," Lauren snapped, her teal eyes narrowing and her hands clenching into fists. "I was just seeing if you were alright, Colt," Malfoy told her, holding his pale hands up and setting his stormy eyes on her teal ones. "Your concern flatters me," she rolled her eyes,"but even if it was any of your business, which its not, I'm fine." "Fiesty this morning, aren't we? What's the matter, not get enough sleep?" he teased, his perfect platinum hair shining under the glow of the candles set in iron bracketts. "I was perfectly fine and then you showed up," Lauren snapped, pulling her fair eyebrows together. "Ooh, deary me, Colt, you wanna watch that attitude, it could get you into a lot of trouble," Malfoy shot back, still smirking. "Know where you're not wanted Malfoy and go away!" Lauren half shouted, her voice hard and curt. "Now, now, that's very rude," he told her, pouting. "Malfoy, shove off," a familiar voice came, Lauren spun back around to find Sirius waiting by his desk, Malfoy was standing in front of his place, and frowning at the pale-skinned boy. "Calm down, I'm leaving," he scoffed,"see you later, Colt," he told her and winked. Eviling him, she took her seat and glued her teal eyes to the front. Sirius took his moments later, Lauren shifted uncomfortably as she felt his stormy gaze on her once more, she had to say something, but what? "Er, Sirius?" she asked, he turned to her, his expression like she'd just called him the worst word she could think of, she fought the urge to laugh,"thanks, for yesterday," she muttered, feeling her cheeks getting warmer. "What?" he asked, his thick, dark eyebrows raised at her and his eyes wide with shock. "I said thanks," Lauren replied, turning her attention back to the front and not chancing a glance sidewards. She could've sworn she'd heard Sirius whisper "You're welcome," but she assumed her imagination was playing tricks on her. "Right class, settle down, settle down!" Professor Dombey called, Lauren felt three gazes on her back, Sirius', James' and Remus', both of them as shocked as Sirius had been that she'd talked to him. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop it, and soon she was smiling towards the board, unnable to keep her cheeks down. "Now, today I thought that we'd learn about the founders of the house in more depth, please take notes," Lauren pulled out her creamy parchment, a crystle pot full of smooth, glossy black ink and her eagle quill. She'd set the metal point down and was just about to write down about Godric Gryffindor, when a voice stopped her. "You're welcome," Snapping her head left, a firm frown in place, she saw Sirius looking at her, warmth in his stormy grey eyes, she had no idea what to say, how could she reply. "Pardon?" she asked, her curved eyebrows raised at him, forcing her frown to smooth out and pulling her pale lips into a thin line. "I said that you're welcome," He replied, smiling slightly. Lauren's stomach involentary churned, she was glad that she'd said something and something inside of her was willing her, urging her to keep the conversation. "Er, okay," Lauren answered, awkwardly, fixing her teal eyes back on the front and letting a smile creep up on her lips. The lesson passed tidiously, their professor droaning on and on about Selzar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor, at one point Lauren had given up enitrely, which was completely out of character, and almost fallen asleep. It was mainly background information that wasn't very important but it was very boring, and soon half the class were asleep, including Sirius. "Now class!" Professor Dombey exclaimed, waking them up,"I want you all to write an essay on your house founder, no shorter than half a side, no more than one and a half," Groaning, the class wrote down the homework and he went back to his dull story. "Prongs, do the spell," she heard Sirius hiss to James, he was now awake and apparently scheming. "Okay, give me a second," James slipped out his wand and flicked it towards his right ear, a stream of light blue, whispy mist shot out the end and seemed to circle straight into his ear. "Elle a l'air vraiment jolie aujourd'hui," She strained her ears, Sirius could speak french? But then why did James need a spell? Lauren translated it as 'she looks really pretty today', who looked pretty? Warmth surged through her once again, he thought a girl looked really pretty, who could it be and how would James know who he was talking about, Sirius hadn't said a name. Maybe it was you, a voice in the back of her head suggested but she cleared her throat and shook her head slightly. "Pads, you've got to do something," James replied, it annoyed her that he'd replied vaguely but then that was probably the point. "Et si elle me rejette? Ensuite, notre amitie serait ruine!" He hissed back, leaving Lauren more confused then she was before. "You can't keep on like this, though!" "Je sais, mais elle me deteste maintenant et ne seront meme pas me dire ce que j'ai fait!" These words buzzed around her head as they translated, what if she rejects me? Then our friendship would be ruined. I know, but she hates me now and won't even tell me what I did! So they were talking about her, Lauren forgot her notes all together and listened more closely to their conversation. "Ask," James prompted, being blunt because he didn't want to give too much away. "Que pensez-vous que j'ai fait? Puis elle va et dit merci pour quand elle etait malade! Je n'ai aucune idee ou je suis!" This conversation was all about her, her stomach fluttered when she'd realised Sirius had called her pretty and a smile played on her lips. "Hmm, a change of heart?" "Je n'ai vraiment aucune idee peut-etre que je vais obtenir Remus lui parler? Soudain, elle prend a moi? Je jure que je l'ai vue sourire plus tot!" He might get Remus to talk to her? Talk to her about what? Lauren blushed slightly as she realised that he'd seen her smiling, she grimaced as to what his reaction would be if he knew she could speak french. "Maybe you should and I don't know, maybe your charms working?" James winked and smirked. "Je pense que c'est ce que je ferai. Je tiens, J'ai a peu pres aussi beaucoup de charme comme une limace morte autour d'elle. Peut-etre qu'elle sort avec quelqu'un d'auture?" she had to pinch her pale arm very hard to refrain from laughing, he'd said that he had about as much charm as a dead slug around her, but she didn't see why his charm would change, especially around her. "She would've told someone, wouldn't she?" James asked, she felt his hazel gaze upon her back. "Et si elle le fait? Et si c'est la raison pour laquelle elle est m'ignore? Et si elle etait amoureuse de lui?!" As usual, he'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, thinking she had a boyfriend and she was in love, sometimes Lauren wondered whether he knew her or not. "Relax, Padfoot. She would've told someone, but you're right, we have to find out why," James instructed, ruffling his hair. "Et si elle obtient juste plus ennuye que j'ai decouvert pourquoi? Elle semble parfaitement heureux avec la facon dont les choses sont!" His voice sounded silky and smooth in french, the words seemed to roll off his tongue and his accent was perfect. But anger soon rose within her again, he thought she was perfectly happy?! How could he be that stupid, she clearly wasn't. "She's not happy!" James whispered, trying to stop Lauren from hearing. "Je vais demander a Remus de lui parler de moi, peut-etre qu'elle va lui dire quelque chose? Ils sont proches droit?" What exactly was Remus going to ask about him, Lauren was debating whether to tell them that she understood everything they were saying, they might be mad she hadn't told them sooner but that would mean giving away this privallage to understand what they were talking about. "I think so but you and her were always the closest," James hissed, after recieving a dirty look from Professor Dombey who was droaning on about Godric Gryffindor's family. "Je ne sais pas quoi faire," he sighed. Lauren let a frown pull her eyebrows together, he didn't know what to do about what? Scribbling down something about friends, she didn't really care at this precise second, she strained her head, trying to look subtle. "Me either, pads," "Mr Potter! Mr Black! Are you intent on disrupting my lesson as much as possible?" Professor Dombey bellowed, startling them both. "No, sir," James replied, trying to hide his smirk. "Then I suggest you both be quiet or you'll end up in detention after school! Now as I was saying..." He went back to his boring lecture with James and Sirius in fits of giggles. "Il a besoin de se calmer," Sirius commented, he and James erupted in a fit of giggles. "I'm not going to tell you boys again," He threatened, frowning at them. Lauren hunched her shoulders over and focused on her work, she could feel two gazes on her back and it didn't take a genius to work out who they were. "Qu'est-ce qui se passe avec elle?" But the chiming of the bell interupted Jame's answer, Lauren gathered her things, shoved them into her bag and stalked out of the classroom, not even bothering to wait for Rue or Alex.

Lauren crossed the lush, jade grounds, the small shards of grass tickling her ankles as she walked, the gold sunlight glaring down onto her back and the gentil, cooling breeze blowing through her short, chestnut hair. She really needed to clear her head and she figured the calming rustling of the trees and the gentil lapping of the lake was the best place to think, everything that she'd heard was buzzing around her head, trying to cram in all her thoughts was emotionally exhuasting. Sitting crossed-legged on the bank of the rippling lake, she looked out at the silvery water, her teal eyes glazing over and looking like glass. The gentil lapping of the gleeming water relaxed her and the cool breeze cleared her head of everything, right now she was an empty shell, ready to fill with new thoughts and theories but one main question stuck in her mind; How on earth could Sirius speak french? This made the corners of her mouth pull up, he'd sounded amazing when he spoke french, his voice was soft and smooth like chocolate. Her mind wandered to Alex and Rue, they'd probably be wondering where she was, maybe they weren't, maybe the thought she'd gone to the library to study, it didn't matter because all Lauren wanted was to be alone. Apparently that was too much to ask. "Er, Lauren?" She tilted her head up to see Remus standing, his hands dancing over each other and his gold flecked hazel eyes warm. "Yes, Remus?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes mirroring his kindness and warmth. "Can I," he cleared his throat, smiling,"can I sit with you?" Lauren smiled back and tapped the apple grass next to her. Remus sat down, hugging his knees to his chest and didn't say anything else, he just stared out into the silvery, rippling water. "Remus, I don't want to sound rude but there must've been a reason for you to come here?" Lauren asked, a smile fixed on her pale face. "Huh? Oh, yeah," Remus stuttered, blushing slightly,"I know you hate Sirius and everything and I know he can be obnoxious, rude, cruel, arrogant, cocky, annoying and pure idiotic but he really hates the fact that you two aren't friends anymore. It's reallly bothering him and I'm actually worried," Remus told him, his hazel eyes filled with sadness. "Remus, you know him, he'll be fine. He just picks himself up and swaggers off with that stupid smirk on his face," Lauren replied, a smile flickering across her pale lips. "I'm taking it he told you about Regulus?" he asked tentively, watching her reaction. "So what if he did? That has nothing to do with what we're talking about," Lauren remarked, frowning. Remus looked torn before he said his next sentence, as if he was debating with himself whether to say it or not. "I just think that this means more to him than you think, Lauren. You're his best friend and loosing you suddenly has hit him hard," Lauren took a minute to absorb what he was telling her, she'd never considered how he'd felt about it. "Listen, I appreciate that he might feel like that but, to be honest, it means nothing coming from you," She said after a while, staring out onto the silvery, glistening surface. "What, what do you mean?" He asked her, his brows knitted together. "Remus, let's face it, you're the only one of the marauders that actually possesses feelings like that," Lauren explained,"I'm not saying James doesn't love Lily, because I know he does, but," she sighed,"it's not easy to explain," Silence fell between them, Lauren just stared onto the horizon, wishing she'd never had this conversation with him. Remus on the other hand had regretted agreeing to Sirius to talk to her, it had acheived nothing, apart from he'd learnt that she thought Sirius had no feelings. "I kind of understand what you're saying," he lied, trying to sound convincing. Lauren threw her head back and laughed, her chestnut hair waving and tangling as she watched the golden sun trying to break through the pure white clouds. "Nah, Remus you could never understand, just like I'll never understand somethings that you and the rest of them talk about." Nervously, Remus checked her face for any sign of annoyance and, upon finding none, he continued. "Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about," he admitted, blushing a little,"but I do know that he misses your friendship and he doesn't want to to hate him," The cool breeze tickled her face as Remus said this, she threw her tawny hair back over her shoulders and leant on her wrists. "I don't hate him, Remus," Lauren retorted, keeping her eyes glued to the perfect sky, Remus raised his thick, brown eyebrows, waiting for her to go on but she didn't. "Well, If you don't hate him then why are you ignroing him?" Remus asked, automatically. Lauren just smiled at him, her nose wrinkling and her eyes twinkling. "You don't hate him, you dislike him..." he prompted, expressionless but his confusion was as clear as glass. "I don't like him nor dislike him, I don't hate him nor love him," Lauren told him, smiling slightly,"it's all very complicated," she added, laughing at his disgruntled face. "What does that even mean?" Remus asked but Lauren had hopped up, slung her bag over her shoulder and was crossing the lush grounds once more, heading for the castle.

He had to sprint to catch up to her, she was already walking up the grey, stone steps when he reached her, panting hard and clutching a stitch in his side. "What do you mean?" he gasped as Lauren stode through the bright, marble entrance hall, making her way to the stairs leading to the dark, grim dungeons. She simply smiled in response, her innocent smile that she used, and decended into the grubby, dim dungeons with Remus badgering her the whole time, continuously asking her what she meant. Goosepimples prickled her arms but she barely noticed, Lupin was completely flustered by the time they reached their class, he hadn't had a chance to catch his breath since he'd ran to catch up to her because he was too busy shooting questions at her. Malfoy and his croonies sent them skeptical looks as they approached their class together, Lauren was holding the shoulder strap of her bag and ignoring Remus completely, still smiling, He had taken to throwing his arms up in the air every so often and threatening never to speak to her again by the time they actually entered the class and took their seats. They were early and Professor Greyson hadn't arrive yet, so Sirius hadn't taken his seat next to her but all of the marauders were huddled around James' table, whispering furiously. Shrugging it off, Lauren walked over to where Alex and Rue were sitting, also whispering, Rue's chocolate eyes were huge and warm while Alex's sky ones were fixed on something. "Hey, guys," Lauren greeted friendly as she approached their wooden desk. "Lauren! Where were you at break?" Rue gushed, her pearly-white teeth visible through her smile. "I was at the lake, I needed to think about some stuff," she shrugged, smiling at them both. "And did you sort it out?" Alex asked,"the stuff I mean," "Yeah, I think I've got it figured out," Lauren told them, a smirk creeping up on her face. "What did you need to think about?" Rue asked tentively, smiling warmly at her. "Oh, nothing important, I might tell you guys later, if I feel like it," She replied and laughed. "Oh, no. This is going to be the llamas all over again, isn't it?" Alex asked, surveying her giggly friend. Lauren simply laughed in reply, while Alex and Rue exchanged exasperated looks. "I don't know what you guys are complaining about, you don't have to sit next to me," She told them, flicking her chestnut hair back over her shoulders and beaming. "That is true but I don't think Sirius will want you as a friend when he discovers your hyper side," Rue mused. "We're not friends anyway, remember I hate him?" Lauren asked beaming, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Why are you smiling about that?" Alex dreaded the answer, she remembered all too well when Lauren had acted like this before and she didn't want to relive it all over again. "D'you know, Alex, I have absoluetly no idea," Lauren told her and half skipped back to her desk, pulling out the things she needed. Remus approached her table as soon as she'd sat down and Sirius had taken his seat as well, she'd beamed at Lupin, not even looking at Sirius but she could feel his stormy gaze on her. "Lauren, what did you mean?" Remus sighed, rolling his eyes, he was obviously annoyed at her. "Y'know Remus, you're way too easy to wind up," Lauren retorted, smiling innocently at him. "So, you're winding me up?" he asked, his eyebrows pulled together. "Maybe," She smiled, making her teal eyes huge and innocent-looking. Remus sighed loudly and stalked back to his seat, pouting his lower lip. Just then, Professor Greyson swooped in, his crimson robes flying behind him like tail feathers, the usual friendly smile planted om his face. Everyone stopped chatting at once, students sulked back to their places and started pulling out everything they needed. He stopped abruptly in front of Lauren and Sirius' desk, while the last few mutters were dying out and silence was falling upon the room.  
"Ah, feeling better, Miss Colt?" he asked, his smile broadining. Having still not gotten over her hyper mood, she smiled back, trying to contain her giggles. "Yes, thanks, sir," She replied, biting the inside of her cheek. "What was wrong, do you know?" Professor Greyson asked, ruffling his grey hair slightly. "I had an allergic reaction to something," Lauren shrugged, making her chestnut hair bounce of her shoulders and shine in the yellow glow from the candles. "Oh dear, what was it to?" He continued, Lauren felt the stares of the whole class on her back, which made her answer tensely waited for. "No idea," She told him, shrugging again and innocently smiling. "Oh, well you're better now, that's all that counts," he smiled. "And she loves llamas again," Alex shouted, her Rue and Lauren burst into fits of giggles, unable to contain them. "Miss Brunelle, please don't shout out," "Sorry sir," Alex gasped through her laughs. Professor Greyson stalked to the front, ignoring the girls laughs, and started scraping the chalk on the blackboard. The room was as cold as ever but it didn't effect Lauren, she was too busy trying to stop her giggles to notice anything else, especially that Sirius was eyeing her strangly, his stormy eyes narrowed. Eventually, Lauren stopped laughing and attempted to concentrate on what their teacher was saying. "Now, today we shall each be making a different potion, you are at an age where I'm going to start giving you more freedome, you have a hundred and fifty minutes, good luck," He announced. Lauren flipped open the emerald book and scanned the contents page, sliding her pale finger down the soft, delicate page, until she found what she wanted. Tapping the black writing that said 'Ridiculam' and muttering '465', she turned the creamy pages until she reached that one. Scanning the page, she memorised the ingredients and walked to the back wooden cupboards to fetch them, half skipping again. She'd found all of them but one, she'd collected a runny, purple liquid, a fine, black powder, an electric blue powder, a gloopy, yellow liquid, that looked like vomit, a green stalk and a shiny, silver liquid, that was a cross between gloopy and chunky, she only needed a bright pink liquid but it wasn't there. Glancing her teal eyes around the room, she spotted it in a crystal pot but the occupant was someone she never wanted to talk to, Severus Snape. Sighing, she clenched her fists and crossed the room to where the greasy-haired boy was working, he scowled upon seeing her but she smiled in return. "Er, could I borrow this?" She asked, pointing to the bright pink liquid and smiling. He looked down his hooked nose at her, his face was just like his hair; greasy. "That?" he asked, blinking a few times. Lauren dreaded what he was going to say and pursed her lips,"are you brewing Ridiculam?" "Yeah," She replied, mirroring his shock,"so, er, could I?" Lauren asked again, smiling sweetly. "Sure," he grunted, looking slightly less grumpy than usual, which was a miracle. "Thanks, I'll bring it right back," she promised.  
"You don't need to, I'm finished with it," he answered, a small smile crossing his lips. "Er, okay, well thanks again," she said, smiling and walked back to her desk. Pouring the vibrant liquid into her pewter cauldron, she added the shiny, silver liquid and stirred it with a metal ladel, holding the textbook in her other hand and darting her eyes back and forth from them. Next, she stirred in the fine, black powder and watched as the potion turned a vivid blue, counting, she stirred it seven times clockwise and back eight times, constantly checking it was going right. After checking about a million times it was right, she added the yellow liquid that splashed back as it plopped in, she smiled apologetically to Sirius who got spalshed, he just stared at her in shock, and the colour brightened slightly. Stirring it four times anti-clockwise and five times clockwise, she poured in the runny, purple liquid, that glided right in, not even making the potion ripple, and spooned in the electric blue powder, putting the book down so she could pour and stir at the same time. Professor Greyson was striding around the classroom, his crimson robes flying out behind him like a cape, checking everyones potions, as usual Peter's had gone horribly wrong and it was a acidic green colour, that had chunks floating around it in, Lauren scanned the page once more and started chopping the stalk, while stirring her potion. The silver blade was cutting fast and sharp, Lauren lifted her teal eyes for a second and a searing pain hit her hand. "Shit," she hissed, making Sirius lift his stormy eyes from his own potion. She'd sliced along her thumb to her wrist and crimson liquid was pouring out fast, gushing and gushing, her hand had gone impossibly white like snow but paler, paler than the dead. She cradled her injured hand against her school uniform and it tinged that crimson as well, cussing again, she wrapped her black cloak around the silce and pressed hard. Pain shot through her hand, it went even paler, and she had to grit her teeth to stop cries of paim escaping her lips. Grimacing, she slowly lowered her robe and the cut had somehow deepened, crimson liquid stained her hands, splattered the table and most of her uniform. Internally, she cussed the knifes for being so sharp and studied her wound. Noticing this, Professor Greyson rushed over, while Lauren was trying to stop the flow of blood in her hand, unsuccessfully, the blood only rushed out more. "Miss Colt, are you alright?" He asked, eyeing her hand that was wrapped up in her robes. "Yeah, it's just these knives are really sharp," Lauren replied, smiling slightly. "Can I see?" Professor Greyson inquired, his warm, brown eyes gliding up and down her injured hand. "I'm really not sure you want to, Professor. I kind of sliced it from my thumb to my wrist," she answered, gritting her teeth against the pain.  
"Then you must go to Madam Pomfrey at once," He instructed, trying to peak over her black, school robe. "No, I can't! I'm nearly finished and it will all go wrong if I stop brewing it now!" Lauren exclaimed, lines appearing on her forehead. "Miss Colt, you've sliced your hand open, it might get infected if we wait," He told her, frowning slightly. "I'd rather have an infected cut than fail," she scoffed, throwing the green stalk into the swirling potion. "Miss Colt, I really don't think that your parents would feel the same way," He narrowed his eyes at her and pursed his lips. "Nah, they know," she shrugged, consulting the textbook again. "Fine but if they sue us, I'm giving you detention," he threatened, smiling slightly. "Okay," Lauren replied brightly, smiling. Turning her back to Professor Greyson, she stirred it once clockwise and twice anti-clockwise. Darting her teal eyes to the book, she read the instructions and ingredients once more, checking that she'd got it all right and smiled as it looked exactly the same as her one. Her hand kept stinging as the material from her school robe slid into it as she darted back and forth, from her desk to the cauldron and back again, she would take a sharp intake of air everytime and Sirius would look up, worry in his stormy eyes but she'd just pretend she hadn't noticed or turn her head away last minute. Occasionally, crimson drops would splatter the floor or her desk but she was very careful not to let them drip into her light blue potion. She tidied her various liquids and powders away, flitting from her desk to the cupboards at the back. She was just about to walk back to her desk, when she noticed Peter's potion had gotten worse and he was very flustered and red-faced. Picking up a grey-ish, runny liquid, she took a different route back to her desk and slid it onto his as she passed, smiling and nodded towards it and then the acidic green liquid in his cauldron. Smiling, she took her seat again, un-wrapping her injured hand from her robe. Her eyes buldged at the sight, like someone was squeezing her head, and her nose wrinkled in disgust. It had bled what looked like pints of blood onto the clothes and it was still gushing and gushing like a crimson waterfall, spraying the sickly liquid all over her table and herself. "Er, Sir?" Lauren called, turning her nose up at the, well there was no other word for it, gash. "Yes, Miss Colt?" He asked, looking over from his desk until his warm brown eyes settled on her. "Can you check my potion please?" Lauren asked, staring at her slit in disbelief, she'd really cut deep and was loosing blood in litres. "Hold on, I'll be there in a minute," Professor Greyson replied. "Er, it's urgent, I fear I might die of bloodloss if you don't check this quick," She gushed. "Fine," He sighed and rushed over to her table, ruffling his smooth, grey hair,"What did you do?" he gasped, looking at her hand. "I, er, cut it," she mumbled, staring at in and wrinkling her nose at the iron-y smell it was emitting. "I don't think it's a good idea to go to Madam Pomfrey, I don't want blood all over the corridors," He mused, swallowing hard as he examined the gash. This caught Sirius' attention, he glanced up and his eyes flared at Lauren's injured hand. "So, what do I do?" Lauren asked, eyeing the blood that was spilling out of her pale hand. "I know a spell but I'm not a hundred percent it's going to work," Professor told her, grimacing. "Well, anythings better than bleeding to death," Lauren replied, trying to stem the blood flow. "Okay," He slid out his wand from his robes and pointed it to her hand,"Sanare," he exclaimed, a soft, whispy light emmited from the end and twirled around her hand, it felt like someone had placed an ice pack on it, the cooling sensation draped her whole hand and the crimson gushes stopped, there was a small, brown line where the spell had worked and a sharp pain. "Ouch!" she shouted, biting her tongue to stop herself from cussing. Professor Greyson was wearing a satisifed smile and nodded towards her. "Coulda warned me," she mumered, turning back to her potion. "Please don't cut yourself anymore, I don't think I can look at another sight like that for a while," he sighed, smiling weakly. "I'll try but I'm really clumsy," She answered, returning the smile. "Anyway, your potion," Professor commented, walking towards her pewter cauldron, he examined the light blue potion, smelling the stream it was emmitting and turning his head from side to side,"Well, I don't think I've ever seen a Ridiculam brewed any better, even if you did slice your hand open in the process," He told her, smiling,"would you like some?" "Er, okay," Lauren answered, taking a small, glass vile from him and spooning some of her light blue liquid inside, she corked the bottle and slipped it into her pocket, suddenly remembering the blood. "Sir, I look like I just killed someone," she told him, pointing to her drenched jumper and robe. "Huh?" Professor Greyson asked, looking up from her cauldron,"Oh dear, yes, it's not the prettiest sight I've ever seen," He chuckled, a deep throaty chuckle and smiled at her. Slipping her wand out from her silky pocket, she pointed it towards herself and muttered,"Tersuium," A blue spray shot out the end of her wand, it looked like it would only drench her but as it touched her clothes, it turned into a steam-like gas and clung to her clothes. Seconds later, the mist lifted and it was tinged crimson, her clothes were prestine once again and she smiled at her cleaness. "Now we're all blood-free," he announced, lingering his friendly, brown eyes on Lauren,"I want you to give me a sample of your potions, finished or not, and I will mark them. Also, please feel free to take a sample but if I find out that you've been using it inappropriately," Lauren could've sworn she saw him look at Sirius and James,"I shall detain you," Sirius and James were laughing about something, he was speaking french again and Lauren assumed James was using some sort of translating spell as he understood everything but replied in English. Listening closer, she heard snippets of their conversation and it was a strange one at that. "Elle a coupe sa main ouverte et elle me sourit, ce n'etait qu'un sourire excuses, mais c'est un debut, non?" Sighing, she stalked back to her seat, too many questions, her smile was a start to what? To starting their friendship again? That couldn't happen as long as Sirius kept acting the way he did, as long as she would get infuriated with him over every little thing, as long as he went around acting like the biggest jerk in the world. "Prat," she scoffed under her breath while packing her things away into her bag, still wincing from the occasional pain from her hand. "Okay, class, good work today! You may go," The bell chimed to signal lunch and Lauren's stomach have an involentary rumble. Yanking her bag over her shoulder, she turned around and was face-to-face with Remus Lupin. "Woah, heard of personal space?" She joked, stepping back a bit and smiling at him. "What did you mean?" Remus asked her, his eyes warm and friendly. "Remus, I didn't mean anything, I was just making a point," She shrugged and smiled warmly at him.  
"Lauren, why won't you tell me?" He asked, his voice full of hurt. "Because there's nothing to tell, Remus. I promise if there was, you'd be the first to know," Lauren promised, still smiling. "You promise if there ever is, you'd tell me first?" He asked, eyeing her skeptically. "Yes, I promise," She laughed, her teal eyes twinkling,"Now can I go to lunch, I'm starving!" She groaned, patting her stomach. "Fine, but if I'm not, I'll kill you," he threatened, his face breaking into a smile. "Don't worry, a few more potions lessons and I'm sure I can do that myself," She laughed and strode out of the class. Meeting Alex and Rue outside the door, they walked to lunch together.

CHAPTER 34: HEARTBREAK AT HOGWARTS

The great hall was packed as usual, groups of girls and huddles of boys, the air alive with the buzz of hundreds of conversations, the usual gaggle of Slytherin girls were surronding Barty, who looked very annoyed with the whole sceen. Striding over, Lauren took her place at the emerald table and began spooning vegetable mousaka onto her gold plate, licking her lips. Wolfing it down, she winced slightly as it burned the roof of her mouth but she basked in the warm, savoury flavour. Noticing Alex's sky eyes were watery, her plate was clean and her cutlery was untouched, she would occasionally take sips from her golden, smooth goblet but she looked like she was in a permeant daydream, like she didn't notice the reality around her. Lauren nudged Rue and then pointed with her teal eyes towards their best friend, Alex was hardly ever upset, she was always the cheery, bubbly one that they couldn't get to shut up but here she was, quiet as a graveyard, something was definetly up. Several times Lauren tried to catch her eye but she was either completely blind or ignoring her. "Alex, are you alright?" Lauren asked, cautiously after about seven unsucessful attempts to catch her eye. "Yeah, fine," Alex mumered and turned her gaze back to where it had been seconds ago. Following her line of sight, Lauren saw that it had fallen upon Dean, her face changed, she didn't look dreamy anymore, she was scowling, scowling right at Dean. Rue noticed this too and turned her huge, concerned eyes towards Alex. "You know you can tell us anything," Rue prompted, smiling warmly. "Outside," Alex whispered, standing up and striding out of the warm, inviting hall. "C'mon, Lauren!" Rue hissed, dragging her up by her elbow. "But...my food!" Lauren whined as Rue dragged her through the gleeming, marble entrance hall and out into the cool, vivid grounds. Hurrying across the lush, tall grass, Lauren followed her friend to the one place she was dreading going, Alex had flopped down on the bank of the black lake, right next to the tree the marauders were sitting under. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, she ignored the stares she felt on her back and joined her friend, the water lapping gently against the hard, brown surface. The cool breeze gushed through Lauren's hair as she turned her warm, friendly eyes to Alex and Rue plopped down on her other side. Her stomach rumbling slightly, she flicked her chestnut hair back over her shoulders and pulled her knees to her chest, still smiling. "Alex, what's wrong?" Lauren asked, not sure whether to put an arm around her friend or not. Alex suddenly broke down in tears, warm, salty liquid drenching her cheeks and making her ringletted hair stick to her face, Lauren instinctively wrapped her arms around her and hugged her, glancing at Rue as she did. Alex flopped her head forward, her blond hair falling down her front and onscuring her face, but her sobs could still be heard. "Dean...cheated...on...me," she gasped through sobs, leaning on Lauren's shoulder. "What? With who?" Rue gasped, patting her arm soothingly. "I...don't...know...some...Gryffindor bitch," Alex replied, her sobs becoming heavier. "How do you know that he cheated on you?" Lauren asked, hugging her tighter. "He...admitted...it," A stronger wind gusted, threatning to splash the three girls in icy, silvery water but they stayed sitting where they were, shock washing over Lauren. "Awh, Lex, why didn't you tell us before? We could've asked him about who it was," Rue told her, her huge, brown eyes full of sorrow. "I, I know, who it was," She admitted, fresh tears sliding down her blotchy cheeks. "Who?" Lauren and Rue asked in sync, curiousity gripping them both. "Mar...Marlene," Alex choked, wipping her tears with the cuff of her school robe. "What? Why would she kiss Dean, surely she'd know you guys were dating?" Rue asked, confusion flitting across her face. "I don't...I don't know what, what she knew and, and what she didn't but she kissed him, or he kissed her," Alex chocked. "Well, have to tried talking to her about it?" Lauren suggested, pulling back a bit from the gripping embrace. "I wouldn't know, know what to say," she told her, flicking her hair back. Lauren pushed Alex back gently, hopped up and strode across the grounds. She was heading towards the place she didn't wanna go, the tree, right towards the marauders but she didn't want them, she wanted Lily and she just had to be sitting with them. Rolling her eyes, Lauren approached the tree and smiled, running her pale fingers through her chestnut hair, her palms were sweaty and her stomach felt like she'd left it behind with Alex and Rue. Clearing her throat as she met their gaze, she was met by five curious pairs of eyes; dull brown, warm hazel, gold flecked honey, startling emerald and stormy grey, her heart fluttered at the sight of those, she turned to Lily and smiled. "Er, Lily, can I talk to you?" Lauren asked, averting her gaze to Lily and only Lily. "Sure," Lily answered, smiling. She hopped up, her crimson hair flowing down her back and walked for a while until the marauders couldn't hear anymore. "So, er, you're friends with Marlene, right?" Lauren asked, feeling numerous gazes on her back. "Yeah, she's in my dorm," Lily replied, looking slightly confused. "So, er, Alex thinks that Marlene might've kissed Dean," She mumbled, looking down at the fresh grass. "Lauren, are you sure? I don't think that she's like that," Lily replied, frowning slightly. "I was just wondering whether you could have a word with her? I know it's a lot to ask but Alex is really upset about it," Lauren gushed, smiling sweetly. "I'll try my best," Lily promised, returning the smile "Thanks, I really apprecate it," Lauren replied,"I'll let you get back now," Lauren had turned to walk back over the lush, green grass, when Lily grabbed her wrist and spun her back round. "Lauren, I know it's not my business or anything and as much as I hate the idiot, Sirius has been really upset since you guys broke friends and he'd never admit it but it's the truth," Lily explained, smiling sadly. "Like I told Remus, no offense but it doesn't really mean anything coming from you guys," She replied, shrugging. "Lauren, do you-?" "No, I don't," Lauren interupted, frowning fiercly,"and tell James and Sirius to stop comunicating in french, they sound like idiots," she snapped and stormed off, back across the grass, the small, fine strands tickling her feet as she walked. Grimacing, she realised that she'd revealed she could speak French. Lauren sat down again, soothing Alex who had watery streaks down her blotchy cheeks, cussing herself internally.

Meanwhile

Lily was left standing alone, her dazzling emerald eyes watching one of her best friends storm away, the gentil breeze blowing through her crimson-red hair. Exhaling sharply, she turned around after watching Lauren sit with her Slytherin friends and strode back towards the tree, her brow creased in thought. The strong sunlight blazing down on her back, she sat down and slumped against the sturdy tree trunk, running through her conversation with Lauren again. "Lils, what was that about?" James asked, ruffling his black, unruely hair. "She just asked about Marlene," Lily replied, gazing off into the direction of the three girls. "She didn't say anything else?" Remus prompted, his curved eyebrows raised. Sirius was gazing off in the direction of Lauren and her two friends, his stormy eyes misted over. "Actually, she said something about James and Sirius," this caught his attention, life flooded back into his eyes and he trained them on Lily,"She said for you guys to stop speaking in French, apparently you sound like idiots," Lily chuckled, her laughed sounding like a bell.  
"Padfoot! You didn't tell me she could speak french too!" James accused, adjusting his glasses. "I didn't know!" Sirius exclaimed, his mouth slightly parted. "You guys were like best friends! Surely you would've shared something like that?" Remus asked. "You think being a pure blood is something you share?" Sirius snapped, his cool grey eyes narrowed. "Sorry, I didn't, I didn't think," Remus stuttered, his cheeks blushing slightly. "The only reason she would've been taught french was if her parents told her to and that would've been for some pure blood related reason," He explained. "Wait, pads! This is worse than we think!" James shouted, glancing around. "What? Why?" "Because you were talking french in History of Magic and she sits right next to you!" "Oh, merde!" Sirius announced, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "What does that mean?" Lily asked, her emerald eyes wide. "Oh, shit," Sirius translated, grimacing. "What did you say? You wouldn't of said anything that led her to believe you fancied her right?" Remus quizzed, his gold flecked eyes narrowed. "I don't, I don't think so," Sirius mused, trying to remember the whole conversation, he'd got a bit distracted by her bright blue eyes that seemed to twinkle and her silky chestnut hair that he longed to stroke and run his fingers through, the way her cheeks always had permeant rose climbing up them, how he longed to caress her face and make that rose into a deep crimson blush. "We need to find out if she feels the same," James decided, jumping up and breaking Sirius' thoughts. "No, we don't," Sirius replied, leaning back against the tree and rubbing his eyes. "We can't just ask her," James carried on, ignoirng his best friends comment. "Guys, you realise you can't always scheme about everything," Lily told them, her hands on her hips. "How else are we suppose to find out?" He countered, smirking slightly. "Er, I don't know, you could just admit how you feel and see how she reacts?" Lily retorted, flicking her crimson hair over her shoulders. "Except, I don't wanna do that," Sirius piped up, returning the death glare she was sending him. "Remus agrees with me, right?" she asked, turning to face the werewolf, her eyebrows raised. "I er, er," He stuttered, keeping his hazel eyes glued to the ground. "Wait! What about a truth serum?" James suggested, ruffling his black hair. "Yeah, we could slip it into her drink?" Sirius asked, his face alight with mischief. "Exactly, then all we have to do is find her and ask her, she'll have no choice!" "No!" Lily exclaimed, her emerald eyes blazing with fury,"She'll just hate you more!" "For a while, maybe, but she'll understand why we did it in the end," James countered, smirking at the red-haired beauty. "Then, you clearly don't know Lauren!" She scoffed, flicking her blood-red hair over her shoulders. "C'mon, Lils, you can't tell me you don't wanna know?" He asked, pushing his glasses back up. "Of course I want to know, I just think you guys are going about it the wrong way!" She replied, her emerald eyes narrowed. "Well it would aviod any awkward conversations," Sirius injected. "Sirius!" she exclaimed. "Evans, no one asked you to aid in the plan, all you have to do is keep it a secret," Sirius shrugged. "Black, no one asked you to be an insufferable git but you are," She snapped back, frowning. "Guys, cool it," James soothed,"Lily, please don't say anything," he pleaded, smiling stupidly. "Fine, whatever but I'm telling you guys its stupid," She commented, slung her bag over her shoulder and stalked off towards the castle. "Okay, now I think we should slip it into her dinner drink," James suggested.

"I can't go to Herbology, I'll have to see him!" Alex exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as more salty tears streamed down her face. The gentil breeze was tickling their faces and they were draped in golden sunlight, the grass beneath them was pure green and pirckled their hands and ankles. Lauren and Rue had beem trying to calm Alex down for most of lunch and nothing was working, she always just sprouted more tears and sighed about how bad Herbology was going to be. "Alex, just stay clear of him and everything will be okay," Rue advised, patting her shoulder soothingly. "I can't go, I can't," Alex sobbed, her ringletted hair sticking to her damp cheeks. "We'll bunk then," Lauren suggested, her mind focused on something other than work for once. Both of the girls heads shot up to stare at her, Lauren didn't know what had made her suggest skipping class but she was deadly serious. "Lauren! We can't bunk, what if someone finds out!" Rue hissed, her chocolate eyes wide. "Fine, we'll bunk and you go to Herbology, we can go to the dorm," Lauren shrugged as if they were talking about the whether. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Lauren?" Alex laughed, looking happy for once since lunch began. "It's just when it involves my friends, I'll do basically anything to make them happy again," She replied, smiling. "Well, I'm not bunking, I love you and everything, Alex, but I'm not going to run the risk of getting a detention," Rue admitted, blushing slightly but keeping her eyes stern. "I don't expect you to, Rue, I didn't expect Lauren to but she offered and I really don't want to see Dean."  
"So you guys are really going to go through with this whole bunking thing?" Rue asked, concern flitting across her face. "Yeah, I feel sorry for Alex and she doesn't want to go to Herbology. I'm not letting her bunk on her own," Lauren replied, smiling. "I don't know what's gotten into your Lauren but I hope you recover soon," Rue mused, her eyes wide. "Nothings gotten into me! I'm just trying to look out for Alex," Lauren replied, feeling slightly annoyed, why did everyone have this concept that she was this perfect girl who never broke the rules or did anything that broke her perfect facade. "Okay, I guess I should go to Herbology, don't want to be late," Rue muttered, picking up her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "See you later, Rue," Alex gasped, silent tears streaming down her blushed face. "Yeah," She replied, smiling, she strode across the sunlight draped grounds, leaving a sobbing Alex and rebelious feeling Lauren in her wake. The lake was riplling and shimmering underneath the golden light, small burts of spray hit the two girls and the giant squid trashed around its huge, cuppy tenticals. The shouts and conversations of the other students were slowly dying away as the grounds emptied, soon all that was left was the lapping of the lake against the bank and the rustling of the leaves of the huge, oak tree, which the marauders were still perched under. The bell chimed vibrating the grounds, but as the dinging of the bell reached the whole of the castle, the marauders made no attempt to move, they stayed exactly where they were basking in the warm light, chatting away happily. Snapping her head left and right numerous times, Lauren saw that the grounds were back to their ususal lush emptyness, the grass looked prestine and untouched, occasional moments of silence would make it a paradise and the rusting and rippling gave it all a relaxed. Lauren had never been anywhere so peaceful, the common room was always full of students screaming or chatting, classes were loud and disturbing, the castle was always buzzing with conversation and her house was anything but with five brothers, Finnick, herself and her parents, not to mention the guests that always visited. Closing her teal eyes, she felt herself drawing further away from reality, into the silence that filled the air, she was absorbed by the rippling of the lake and the rusting leaves eachoed through her ears. Snapping them back open, she saw that the marauders still hadn't left, they were bunking too. She hadn't realised she'd been staring at the tree until Sirius Black caught her eye, they both looked startled to see the other looking and Lauren averted her gaze and blushed. She had no idea why she blushing, she wasn't doing anything embrassing, she was just looking. Lauren sighed, stretching out, throwing her flicky, tawny hair over her shoulders and stood up, slinging the material, green bag over her shoulder. Aex gazed up at her, her sky eyes questioning but Lauren didn't answer, she just gestured for Alex to follow her and set off across the lush, chartreuse grounds, holding the strap of her bag. She could hear Alex's light footsteps following her as she turned her head around, not sure where to go. Lauren knew she couldn't pass the marauders, one, it would be too awkward, and two, they'd ask where they were going, she didn't particularly want them to know she was skipping classes, especially since it was nothing like her usual behavour. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she imagined how Sirius would react to the news, Lauren had a feeling that he'd be sort of impressed, maybe he'd even consider her. Lauren shook her head to dismiss those thoughts, they weren't even friends at the moment, let alone being more than that, friends was the minimum. She decided to take the long way back to the castle, the marauders would see her if they were facing the right way but she assumed that they'd be more engrossed in scheming and planning pranks to notice. With the stong sunlight baring down onto her back, Lauren walked around the edge of the lake, the water was so clear you could see your own reflection and the slightest movement made the glossy water ripple and swirl. Alex was lagging a little behind, Lauren's long legs meant that she could take longer strides thus moving quicker, there was something tranquil about this scene, right now she didn't care if she was caught, it was a beautiful day, despite the fact that it was technically winter, and she could think of nothing more horrific than being baked alive in a greenhouse, studying Herbology. Secretly, she agreed with Alex, it was fancy gardening but Lauren was exactly like Nick, she studied hard and put effort into all her lessons, her opinion didn't contribute. Her teal eyes glazed over as she imagined how Nick would react to hearing that she'd bunked, or if Fred and George would be proud of their little sister, Lauren had never done anything to show that they were related, she tried hard in lessons, she never pranked, she followed the rules, she hadn't had one detention and, until now, she'd never skipped class but she could see the appeal. Adreiline was coursing through her like posion, it was probably only an effect on your first time but the danger of being caught is what made it exciting, constantly checking around for teachers was the best part but she guessed detention would be the worst. Although, the prospect of her first detention did sound intriguing, she only had to go on what her brothers and the marauders had told her, which wasn't a lot, and it must be very different from expereincing it first hand. A slight breeze pushing against her body, they reached the dull, grey stone steps, checked for teachers once more and strode into the marble entrance hall, Alex looked very confused but didn't dare make a whisper, the louder they were, the more chance of getting caught. They slipped down the steps into the freezing dungeons, Lauren wondered how they still managed to be cold on a warm day like this, and crept along the dimly lit corridor. She whispered the password to the portraite, that swung open without even opening his eyes, and they climbed inside their common room. It looked a tiny bit more inviting with golden sunlight pouring through the windows but the candles only emmited an eerie glow and the fire was extinguished, the prefects assumed that no one would come here in lessons. Lauren and Alex hugged themselves with their arms and hurried up the glossy steps, leaving the cold, empty common room far behind as they tip-toed down the light, airy corridor and sneaked into their dormitory.

CHAPTER 35: A CINVERSATION ABOUT THE MARAUDERS

It was really strange for the girls seeing their dorm prestine, the house elves had obviously been in and cleared up, it looked how it did after the summer holidays. Also, the silence was eerie, it was always filled with girlish squeals, mainly from Pansy or Annabeth, or the quite humms of Rue's studing or Alex's chatter, gossip about who-knows-who doing who-knows-what or Lauren's music, though she'd stopped playing it when the four other girls had shouted at her. Being a pure blood she wasn't really suppose to be interested in anything muggle but Lauren had a thirst for information and that world peaked her intrerest, especially their music. In the magic world, they only really had bands like The Weird Sisters, who she had a low opinion of, the other bands were little known and they all played the same music. Last summer, Lauren had asked Lily about muggle music and she had leant Lauren her 'iPod', though Lauren had no clue what it did, she didn't really like the music on it, it was full of bands called 'One Direction' and 'Cover Drive', whatever a cover drive was, she didn't know. Lauren became more and more interested in their music, she'd asked her brothers and they'd leant her their CD's, bands like AC DC, MCR, Black Stone Cherry, Nickleback, Black Vale Brides, Bullet for my Valentine, Panic! At the Disco and You me At Six. When she was twelve, Nick had taught her how to play the drums and guitar, they had the music around to copy the artists were and she had fallen in love with her guitar. Pure bloods weren't suppose to like things like that though and her mum had to hide the instruments and CD'a whenever they had guests, which seemed to be continuous over the summer, and they barely managed to play once over the holidays. Lauren had been in the marauders room once, Lily wanted her book back from James and she couldn't wait, it turned out Sirius could play the guitar too, he had a black one that looked like a deformed star, crimson lined the edge and she had longed to play it but he was clearly hiding it and she didn't know how he'd react. Sighing, Lauren slid open the emerald curtains and flopped onto the comfy bed, she felt guilt wash over her as she imagined Rue all alone in Herbology but since she didn't have a problem, as such, with Dean, they wouldn't do that right? Rubbing her eyes, she stretched out, feeling the silky pillows brush against her warm cheeks as she spread out, covering most of the double bed. Lauren undid her top button, unknotted her tie and threw it onto the floor, she hated the feeling of strangling that her top button inflicted. "Anyway, spill." Alex demanded, mirroring Lauren and stretching out,"What was with the sudden escape?" Alex asked, her sky eyes inquzitive and trained purely on her best friend.  
"Did you see the marauders?" Lauren didn't wait for an answer,"They were there too and they'd just question me about why I was bunking, everyone has the perception that I'm the perfect student and perfect girls don't bunk," She shrugged, rolling her eyes when she said about the perfect perception. "I suppose, do you reckon the marauders bunk a lot? I think that it's all Sirius and James' idea, I mean Peter's just tags along, like some kind of loyal puppy and Remus is probably forced into it," Alex mused, absent mindedly twirling a blond curl around her finger. Lauren felt her stomach prang as they were metioned, especially since Alex was putting half the blame on Sirius for them breaking the rules, warmth was surging up from the bottom of her stomach and she was confused as to why, it probably was him and James but she didn't want to accept that as the truth. "Two people can't control the whole group, they probably all agree," Lauren shrugged, trying not to let the anger she felt break through into her voice. "They'd only have to force Remus, I'm sure that if they asked Peter to jump off a bridge for James, he'd do it. I'm sure Remus would be completely against the idea," Alex went on, her fair eyebrows pulled together. "What's with this sudden defense of Remus?" Lauren questioned, her accuse stare set firmly on her best friend. "Nothing, I, just, I was just thinking, you know, he's the best one, out of them I mean," She stuttered, blushing. "He's certainly the kindest but Peter is completely innocent and you can't help but like him, Sirius is really funny and James, we'll James is insufferable but caring," Lauren mused, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Urgh, Peter is just strange, he looks up to James with admiration and awe, they're the same age and James is alright but he's nothing special to be admired," Alex replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess he looks up to James like an older brother, Remus is his best friend and I think he's scared of Sirius after Peter told Professor MaGonagal everything and Sirius pinned him up against a wall, it look ages to calm him down and get him to release Peter," Lauren commented, loosing herself in her thoughts, ages didn't cover it, it was hours before he released Peter who was choking non stop and get him to calm down and stop trying to attack him again. Peter looked like a frightened child against Sirius, he was short and plump and Sirius was tall and muscly, Lauren assumed he'd gained the muscle from years of Qudditch games because it looked effortless. Peter never really had a chance against Sirius, all he could do was squirm in his iron grip and gasp for air, which probably wasn't the best tatic if someones choking you but he's not exactly the brightest spark. "I guess you have a point but it's still weird. Anyway, I didn't know Sirius was funny?" Alex asked, a smirk pulling at her lips. "Well, yeah, he kinda is, I mean when we were best friends he was, not that it's changed," Lauren stumbled, feeling blood rising to her cheeks and grimacing. Alex's smirk grew and she looked exactly like Sirius, a stupid smirk always plastered on his face. "What is up with you guys, anyway? Before Christmas you were best friends, you were probably closer to him than Regulus, did something happen to you guys over the holidays?" She asked, smoothing her lips into a line. "I don't really know what happened, things changed, it, it couldn't be the same," She admitted, staring at the floor. "What things? Did you guys have an argument or something?" Alex pressed. "No, well, we haven't, not exactly, we just sort of, stopped," Lauren couldn't tell Alex the truth, she'd denied it since second year, until this year, she'd belived it herself but the truth was way too complicated and Lauren wasn't sure she even understood what she felt. "You and him just stopped being best friends?" Alex asked, running her fingers through her silky hair. "Well, we just stopped talking, I couldn't really talk to James without it being awkward, Peter wouldn't want to upset him, so he hasn't talked to me and Remus is fine with me but it's not the same. I kinda miss the whole group," She had no idea why she was admitting this all to Alex but it felt good to get all her thoughts and feelings off of her chest. "I know that you miss Sirius the most, you guys were inseparable, always laughing and joking, half of Hogwarts was convinced you were dating, including me, you can't just forget friendship like that." The sky eyed girl told her, smiling warmly. "It's, it's really compl-, I can't explain, it's too-, I don't know," Lauren sighed, flopping down onto her warm bed. "I know I've told you this a hundred times but I'm convinced he fancies you," "I wish," Lauren muttered, pulling out a piece of creamy parchment to write her History of Magic essay on. "What'd you say?" Alex asked, dumping her school things on the floor. "I'm going to do my essay for History of Magic now," Lauren lied, racking her brain for information about Selzar Slytherin but all that came was the conversation between James and Sirius, Lily had told them by now and they were probably wondering why she hadn't mentioned anything during it. "Urgh, you're so boring," Alex complained, rolling her eyes. Ignoring her best friends complaints, Lauren began to scribble down facts and information about Selzar Slytherin and how his rivalry with Godric Gryffindor caused the rift between the two houses. She was so engrossed in her essay, determind to get every tiny piece of information down, that she didn't hear the bell, twice it rung but she missed it, she didn't hear the flock of students walking to their dorms, she didn't hear Rue enter the room and suddenly she was looking at the two faces of her best friends, they looked slightly shocked. "What?" Lauren asked, her eyebrows pulled together and worry lines appearing on her forehead. "Haven't you be listening to anything I've said?!" Rue snapped, a fierce frown planted on her copper face. "I, er, I was, er, writing my essay," Lauren stuttered, guilt washing over her like water. "Now I have to tell my story all over again," Rue sighed. Alex had tears in her eyes once more and her sobs were ringing around the large dormitory, her breaths were more like gasps and they made her chest collapse scarily deep. "What's wrong, Alex?" Lauren asked, ignoring Rue's annoyed sigh. Alex didn't look up at the mention of her name, her curled hair was pulled back into a low pony tail and her tanned hands were covering most of her face. "If you were listening," Rue started, an annoyed edge to her smooth voice,"you'd know that Dean's apparently completely moved on from her and is thinking about dating that Gryffindor," A sorrow tone had injected into her voice and her huge, chocolate eyes were swimming with sadness and empathy for her friend. "What? How can he be moved on? You guys haven't officially broken up yet!" She accused, laying her essay on the wooden table and turning her full attention to her friends. "Apparently they have broken up and he's been thinking about it for a while," Rue said, patting Alex's arm soothingly. "What? He...just...cheats on...me...and...that's...breaking up?" Alex gasped through her cries, her pink cheeks were tear stained and fresh tears kept sprouting from her eyes. "I don't know, Edward couldn't really say much else about it, since Dean had trusted him," The chocolate eyed girl admitted. "I, er, I asked Lily about Marlene and she said that she didn't think Marlene was like that," Lauren told them awkardly, adverting her eyes.  
"Maybe Dean lied to her?" Rue suggested,"He might've told her he was single?" "Maybe," Lauren mused, considering the prospect. "Maybe she's just a Gryffinwhore," Alex sniped, Lauren couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips and Rue was fighting back laughter too. Soon, the three girls were in hysterical laughter that rang around the Slytherin dormitory. Alex was laughing and crying at the same time, her mouth was spread into a huge smile but warm, salty tears were falling down her cheeks, the sight made Lauren laugh harder. "I'm serious!" Alex gasped through her laughter, Lauren felt a prang of sadness where Sirius would make his usual joke and they'd laugh, except Remus, who'd roll his eyes and groan. "Yeah, well you let all the wizards slytherin," Lauren joked, poking her tongue out at Alex. Their dorm was flooded with the laughter of the three girls. "Against the door with a Ravenclaw," Alex laughed, feeling better. "I'd get in with a Slytherin," Rue injected, through her laughs. "On all fours, Gryffindor," Lauren added, laughing harder. "I'd have it rough with a Hufflepuff," Alex exclaimed, the three girls laughed, all their sides aching and gasping for breath, "Up the duff with a Hufflepuff," "I'd go at it 'til your raw for a Ravenclaw," "I'd explore with a Ravenclaw," "I think Lily needs a marauder to keep her in order," Alex gasped, clutching a stitch in her side. Lauren was laughing so hard she fell off her bed and landed with a muffled thud on the spongy carpet. "Ouch," Lauren groaned, using one of the wooden posts of her bed to pull herself up again. "I think Lauren needs a marauder to keep her in order," Rue joked, rushing over and helping her best friend up. "No, I do not!" She exclaimed, brushing down her clothes and flattening her hair. "Lauren would sin for Remus Lupin," Alex teased, laughing again. "What? No I would not!" she gasped, narrowing her eyes. "Nah, she's more like; Fancy a smack, Sirius Black," Rue injected, her pearly teeth contrasting against her dark lips. "No, she's like; what's under your cape, Severus Snape," Alex and Rue shreiked with laughter while Lauren tried to keep her eyebrows puleld into a frown but her lips kept twitching, the jokes were funny, even if they were at her expense. Her cheeks were flushed and she wasn't sure if the blood was reaching anywhere but her face. "I hate you guys," Lauren commented, giving in to the laughter that wanted to escape. After what felt like hours, the three girls stopped laughing, each one was gasping for breath with flushed cheeks.  
"Can we...go get...dinner...?" Alex gasped, standing up. "Yeah...let's...go," Lauren replied, crossing the room.

The three girls strode through the glossy, marble corridor, they'd just about recovered from laughing and were discussing Dean again, which mellowed the mood considerably. The common room was completely deserted apart from a small trio of second years who were huddled together, talking. Gold mist draped the room, the snakes on the stain-class windows looked alive, writhering and sliding beneath the golden light, their black eyes misted over, someone had started up the blazing fire, which warmed the room slightly, and made dark shadows danced across the room, giving it a macabre feel. The glowing candles were held in place by heavy iron brackets that hung from the dark walls, the emerald and gold glow gave the room a very odd colour and it felt as univiting and cold as ever, even though it was still warm outside and sunlight was boring through the window. Hurrying across the room, they swung open the portraite hole and climbed out into the dark, dingy dungeon corridor, that sent shivers down their spines and made their arms prickle with goosebumps. The entrance hall gleemed and gave off an expensive feel as it always did, the girls were happy to emerge into the bright, open plan space compared to the dark, cramped corridors that twisted andn turned through the dungeons. They were just about to enter the great hall, that was giving off delicious smells and a warm aura, when a voice stopped Lauren. "Lauren! Wait!" Remus Lupin was sprinting towards her, his floppy hair bouncing over his eyes and his hands clutching his side. When he approached her, he was panting and bent over, trying to catch the remainder of his breath. "Er, you guys go on," Lauren told Rue and Alex, smiling warmly. They nodded and disappared into a sea of students, Lauren turned her attention to Remus, who looked very red-faced and breathy. Paitently, she waited until he stood upright and his breathing had returned to its normal pace. "Lauren, whatever you do, don't drink your goblet," He gasped, the blood was slowly draining from his face as he shoved his hair back and away from his eyes, where it was brushing the lids. "What? Why not?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows together. Remus looked depserate, he kept flitting his eyes around to check if anyone was watching them and he was figiditing on the spot, staying on the balls on his feet. "I don't have time, I really don't and I'm sorry but just don't drink it, okay?" Remus asked, his eyes huge, the gold flecks sparkling. "Why can't I drink my pumpkin juice?" She asked again, putting her hands on her hips. Remus groaned and rubbed his temples furiously, like he was debating something internally. "You trust me?" He asked, an urgency to he usually laid back voice. "You know I do," Lauren answered, her frown deepening. "Then promise me you won't drink the contents of your goblet," Remus exclaimed. "Okay, I won't," Lauren shrugged, not seeing what difference drinking her juice could make. "Promise me," Remus demanded, all his usual warmth and friendlyness had gone, he looked desperate and determind. "I promise, but what difference will it make?" She asked, surveying him, he looked scruffy, which wasn't that different, but he was sweaty from running and his cheeks were still pink. "Do you want your worst and deepest secrets to come out?" He asked, his voice a little friendlier. "No, er, of course I don't! Remus, what is this about?" Lauren felt her mind whiring as their conversation went on, nothing made sense and he wasn't clearing anything up for her. "There's no time! Remember, don't drink the juice and I never told you any of this," He gushed. "Er, okay," Lauren mumbled, her mind was running at an impossible speed, trying to take in everything he was telling her. "I wasn't here, don't tell Padfoot or Prongs or Wormtail," Remus instructed, turning on his heels and sprinting back the way he came,"Don't drink it!" He called as he disappeared up the winding, marble staircase, still sprinting at his fastest. Shaking her head slightly to clear it, Lauren strode through the tall, wooden doors and into the great hall, feeling confusion hitting all over her body. Slipping into her seat between Regulus and Alex, she started to pile her gold plate high with all sorts of foods, she'd missed lunch because of the Alex drama and she couldn't remember feeling this hungry before, she probbaly had but thoughts about her conversation were occupying her head, the food didn't even touch her lips, it brushed her tongue and slid straight down her throat, almost whole. Rue and Alex were doing the same, perhaps more subtly, they were mumering every so often and sending death glares to the blue table where Dean was sitting with Alex and Edward. He was chatting away, as happy as he could ever be, you wouldn't of guessed that he'd just cheated on his girlfriend, clearly Alex had noticed it too because all the traces of humour had left her face and she was scowling. Glancing over to the table draped in ruby, she realised that four pairs of eyes were watching her intently, stormy grey, warm honey, gold flecked hazel and dull brown, her forehead creased slightly and she shifted unconfortably under their piercing gazes. Remus' words were ringing around her head, 'don't drink the juice', his gold flecked eyes were huge and he couldn't sit still for more than two seconds. She didn't lift her eyes from her plate again, she just sat staring at the foods, aware of the stares on her. When the puddings appeared, she didn't feel like eating anything, the stares that greeted her everytime she lifted her eyes a milimeter weren't exactly pleasant for her and they put her off eating completely. Leaving her reflective goblet well alone, Lauren ate her dinner in silence and tried her best to ignore the eyes that were trained on her. "Are you finished?" Rue asked, her voice had become empathetic again and she was rubbing Alex's shoulders. "Yeah, let's get out of here," Lauren gushed, pratically jumping up and sprinting out of the hall, leaving the piercing gazes behind her. The girls walked back through the gleeming entrance hall, feeling warmth soak their backs as they reassured Alex it would be okay. 'Okay' was such a stupid word, what did it even mean, how could things be 'okay' Dean had cheated on her and moved on and the only word they could use to sooth her was 'okay'. Okay was another word for average, everything would be back to normal, Lauren wasn't even sure what was normal for her anymore, it use to be the marauders, Lily and her hanging out under that stupid tree, laughing and joking, things definetly were not normal now. Lauren clenched her fists against the memory of how Sirius use to tease her about Malfoy, about how much of a goody two shoes she was, about how he was sure they could corrupt her, those were the best times. Sure, she loved being friends with Alex and Rue but it wasn't the same, she missed her best friends and how everything use to be, how did things change that quickly? "Guys, I'll meet you in the dorm later," Lauren decided, turning on her heels. She didn't wait for them to answer, Lauren hurried back the way they'd came.

CHAPTER 36: AN ENCOUTER

The gentil breeze felt cooling against her face as she crossed the hard, stone floor, the stars above her head looked like expensive gems on a cushion of black silk. The astronomy tower had the best views in Hogwarts, the stars were as clear as glass, the moon looked like a pure silver ring hanging above her head and it's silver mist draped the tower. This was the best place to come if you wanted to think, it was quite and peaceful, no screaming students, no buzzing conversations, just pure and utter silence. Lauren crossed to the far side of the tower, keeping her teal eyes glued to the black satin sky, sliding down the cold, hard wall, she perched down on the uncomfortable, freezing slab of grey stone and hugged her legs to her chest. She'd come here once before when she'd realised how she felt but that was different, she was still friends with him then and everything was normal, everything was how it should be. Her world felt like a snowglobe that someone had tipped upside down and ruined everything, her world had changed abruptly just like when snow pours down onto the village. The worst thing was, she hadn't just lost her best friend, she'd told Sirius everything, he was the one she trusted with her life, Lauren had told him about the whole pure blood thing, about her family, her whole life because he understood, for once, she had someone who understood everything. After all, he was in the exact same positon, that's why he'd told her about his parents and Regulus, they both hated the blood status prejudice that had been forced upon them, they shared the same feelings and views, they knew exactly what the other was thinking but she'd never thought about him as anything more than her best friend until that letter. That damn letter that changed everything, damn Nick being damn protective in his own stupid, damn way. Lauren trashed out at the air, kicking as hard as she could at nothingness, throwing her hardest punch at no target, groaning at no one. After five solid minutes of this, she got her emmotions back in check and forced herself to calm down, she was being stupid and this really wasn't helping anyone. Closing her eyes, Lauren rested her head back against the cool, hard wall and let all her emotions flood through her. It wasn't just her life that was changing, she was too, she'd bunked off class today because of Alex, well that's what she told herself, but it was because she could, simply because she could skip classes and no one and nothing was stopping her. Sighing, Lauren fluttered her eyes open and gazed them above, the stars were like diamonds littering the sky, they looked beautiful from here, no clouds, no mist, just a pure black sky and clear gems. Lauren had no idea how long she'd been up here, it felt like mere minutes but the wind was stronger, more bitter, the sky was completely black, the stars were brighter than ever and she felt tiredness washing over her body. Groaning, she stood up, using the rough, cold wall for support, and crossed back over the tower, letting her mind clear as the bitter wind flew through her flicky, chestnut hair. Grabbing the cold, brass handle, she swung the heavy door open and decended down the stone steps, longing for the moment when she'd reached the end. She suddenly remembered about dinner, the marauders were watching her, staring and even when she met their gaze they didn't look away, they must've been planning something, she shrugged it off since scheming was like breathing to them and emerged into the dark, marble corridor. She pulled her wand out of her sock, where it was hidden, and muttered "Lumos", a strong white light lit at the end of the wooden wand but it only lit a few feet in front of her face, that wasn't going to be good if she ran into Filch and she was sure it was past curfew. Treading very carefully, she edged her way along the glossy corridor, taking about an inch at a time. Soon, she got bored and started walking normally, she'd make up some old excuse if she was caught, plus Slughorn pratically loved her, so she wouldn't be serving detention anytime soon. Lauren was halfway down the smooth hallway when she thought she heared faint footsteps. She colided with something hard and was knocked back onto her bum, Lauren's lit wand was knocked from her hand and went out and shooting pains hit her wrists where they'd broken the fall. Grimacing, she groped around in the pitch black for her wand but all she grabbed was air. "Ouch," She groaned, feeling around for her once lit wand. "Sorry, I should've lit my wand, I was just-" "Sirius?" Lauren asked, rolling her eyes, typical pratt. "Lauren?" "Yeah, now please help me find my wand," Lauren asked, a pleading tone to her voice, her wrists really hurt. "Hold on," The sound of material filled the silence, Sirius mumered something and a white light broke the darkness. He was carrying four clear, glass bottles and one odd shaped, green one, it had a skinny neck but fat base, Lauren forgot all about her wand in that split second, she just looked straight into the cool, grey eyes of Sirius Black. He didn't move either, they both just stared, Lauren sitting on the floor and him slouching slightly, holding his wand out. She cleared her throat to break the moment and started searching around for her wand, ignoring the fact that he was still staring at her. "Could you help me search, please?" Lauren asked, afraid to move her wrists because of the pain that would hit them. "Er, yeah, sorry," Sirius mumbled and started turning his head left to right, Lauren couldn't help but wonder what he was doing out this late and she guessed he was thinking the same. "Here," He crouched down, scooped up the wand and held it out to her. Tentively, she lifted her hand, the pain was only temporary and took it from him. "Thanks," Lauren commented, not bothering to get up off the smooth, marble floor. "You're welcome, after all I did bang into you," Sirius said shyly. Sirius shy? Lauren's mind threw this question at her again and again like a ricochetting bullet, since when did he act shy? What happened to loud, confident, bold Sirius?  
"What are you doing running around the castle at this time anyway?" Lauren asked, rubbing her wrist. "I guess I could ask you the same thing," He shot back, smiling slightly. "You could but I asked you first," She replied, feeling her mouth pulling into a smile. "We're having a party in our dorm, the others sent me out to get alcohol for us all," He admitted. "I was, er, I was in the astronomy tower," Lauren stumbled, that sounded really lame and she blushed as the words escaped her lips. "Always studying with you, is it?" He teased, winking. She panicked inside, his wink made her stomach flutter, she was fan girling internally, he looked so attractive when he winked, Lauren had to physically stop herself from jumping up and kissing him but she stayed planted on the floor where she'd fallen. "I wasn't studying, I was just, er, thinking," Lauren kicked herself internally, that sounded even lamer than before, I was, er, thinking, she asked herself; 'Really, Lauren? Thinking?' "What were you thinking about?" Sirius inquired, luckily he didn't think it quite as lame as Lauren did. "Just thinking in general," She shrugged,"Anyway, is it just a party with your dorm or are others invited?" Lauren asked, feeling heat rising to her cheeks. "Why, want an invite, Colt?" He asked, smirking. Lauren had to slap herself internally, she hated him, she ignored him in classes, she was sending him mixed signals and it wasn't fair but she couldn't stop herself, the wink, the smirk, it just made her brain scramble like egg. "No, I was just wondering," She muttered, feeling blood rise to her cheeks. "I think so but James'll probably invite Lily, you know how they are," Sirius rolled his eyes and made a gagging face, Lauren giggled, this was exactly how it use to be between them. "Anyway," she announced, clearing her throat,"you should probably get back to them, I guess it's not a party without alcohol?" Lauren commented, tucking a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. "No, no I guess not. You know, you could come, I'm sure they wouldn't mind," He offered, this was the only time she'd seen him blush properly, his cheeks were crimson and he wouldn't meet her gaze. "I really don't think a party's my kind of thing, plus we have lessons tomorrow," She responded, feeling slightly guilty. "Please come?" Sirius asked, the tone of his voice made her head shoot straight up, all the cockyness had left him, his voice was almost pleading. He cleared his throat and slumped against the wall,"You know, if you want," Arrogant Sirius was back. "You know me, always studying and with lessons tomorrow," she shook her head,"I couldn't," His posture didn't change, arrogance was still radiating off of him but his eyes changed, something flickered across the smooth greyness, something that looked like hurt but it couldn't be, why would he be hurt? "That's cool, I think Remus feels the same," Sirius shrugged, smiling. "I doubt he'll get much sleep with you and James drunk," Lauren scoffed, returning the smile. "Nah, I only have four butterbeers and a bottle of firewhiskey," "Oh, is that it?" She teased, feeling her smile fade. He would get the complete wrong impression if she started teasing him, it would almost be like flirting and that wouldn't get them anywhere good. "I know that you've tried butterbeer but I doubt that firewhiskey is your kind of thing," He teased back, smirking. "Yes, I'm this thing called sensible," Lauren commented, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Sirius chuckled, his cool eyes misted over and became that shade of grey-y/white that she loved so much. "Firewhiskey isn't that bad, I mean, I might be a little grumpy tomorrow but it'll all work out," Sirius shrugged. "I hope not, we have potions again and I don't want you to snap at me," Lauren smiled, half joking, half serious. "Oh, yeah, I won't get too drunk then." "I thought you weren't getting drunk at all," she challenged, her hands on her hips, which looked strange as she was still sitting on the floor.  
"Well, we might, just a little but Remus will mother us, don't worry," He reassured her. "You should probably get those back then," she pointed to the bottles,"Then Remus can start mothering," "Yeah, I suppose, do you want a hand?" Sirius asked. "Huh?" "Getting up," He clarified, setting the glass bottles down and striding over to where she'd been knocked over, Lauren froze as he approached. "Oh, er, yes, please," Lauren stumbled, rubbing her wrist. He held out a pale hand to her, his eyes friendly and kind, Lauren swallowed hard, deciding that Sirius had been the one to offer and her wirsts still hurt, she slid her own hand into his. Ignoring the butterflys in her stomach, she supported herself with the other hand and combined, she was back on her feet once more. For a while, Lauren didn't think she was going to get her hand back, he was still holding onto it and they were gazing into each others eyes twinkling teal into stormy grey, they were locked together. Eventually, Sirius cleared his throat and he let her hand go, Lauren felt it tingle where he'd been holding it and flexed her fingers. "I should probably get going then," He mumbled, picking up the five bottles with ease and smiling at her. "Yeah, er, me too. Don't really wanna be caught," Lauren commented and immedatley hated herself for saying it, it made her sound all naive and perfect, a perception she was trying to shatter. "Relax, Filch wouldn't give you a detention and, even if he did, I'm sure old sluggy would come to your rescue," Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Plus it would be a lot worse for you," She replied, letting a smile cross her lips. "Minie would love to give me a months detention, I bet," He joked, a light chuckle ringing through the silent halls. "I think most teachers would love that," Lauren shrugged, smiling at him.  
"Probably. Anyway, I've got to go, the others will be wondering where I am," Sirius told her but he didn't move. "Rue and Alex will be wondering too, I haven't seen them since dinner," She admitted. "Blimey! What did you have to think about?" He asked, amusment flitting across his face. "Oh, nothing important," "Okay, we'll I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Sirius strode off down the marble corridor, silver moonlight was draping through the windows, giving it a misty look, Lauren knew she couldn't leave it there, it wasn't fair to him, she'd just go back to ignoring him tomorrow and she'd never even given him a reason, it wasn't fair. "Sirius!" She called, her mouth seemed to have decided what she was going to say before her mind had processed it, he spun back around, his eyes the same colour as the moonlight,"Can we be pleasant?" "What do you mean?" He asked, pulling his curved, black eyebrows together in confusion. "Like general talk, saying hello to each other between classes, smiling, that kind of thing," Lauren felt like her whole body had been drained of blood and it was being pumped back into her cheeks, every single drop, it felt like her head was on fire but, for once, she didn't care, she had to rekindle this, whatever it was. A broad smile stretched across his face, although he tried to hide it.  
"Sure, I'd like that," He answered, smiling. Lauren felt the breaths she'd been building up release, her head no longer felt like it would give people third degree burns, second maybe but not third, her chest deflated and a smile tugged at her lips. "Okay, er, I guess I'll see you in potions?" She phrased it as a question but she didn't need an answer, she knew that she would and maybe things would look up from here onwards. "Yeah, I guess you will," Sirius replied, he turned around again and started walking to the portraite at the far end. Lauren did the same, heading back down the misty corridor and smiling to herself. Snapping her head round, Sirius had disappeared and there was no trace of the encounter that had taken place. Lauren hurried back to her dorm, half running through the entrance hall and nearly slipping on the dungeon floor but eventually, she made it back to her dormitory in one piece. Everyone was asleep, only the sound of heavy breaths and gentil snores filled the room as Lauren got ready for bed and slipped underneath the warm covers, maybe something was finally going right.

"LAUREN! WAKE UP!" Alex screeched. She stirred slightly, rubbing her eyes and groaning, it was definetly too early. Rolling over, Lauren fluttered her eyes open, Alex was bossing everyone around, Rue was still curled up in her white douvet and the two other girls were still in bed. Yawning, Lauren pushed herself from the shield of warmth and comfort the covers provided and cast her teal eyes around the room. In the space of a couple of hours they'd managed to ruin the dorm again, clothes were discarded and thrown on the floor, pillows were dumped around the room and the odd glove or wolly hat littered the floor, no one really cared about it except Alex, as usual she was stomping around lecturing everyone at half six in the morning. Alex was throwing her arms up in the air occasionally through her speach, stomping her feet and pointing viciously, everyone in the dorm had learned how to block her out and she was essentially talking to herself. The room looked like it was covered with blood, the rising sun outside was emitting its strong rays through the emerald window and drowning the room in vivid red, Lauren could feel the warmth of them falling on her bed and draping her face. Rolling her eyes at Alex, she hopped out of bed and began, sleepily, yanking her uniform on, not caring what her roomates were doing. Rue had managed to drag herself out of bed, literally drag, her tightly curled hair was poffy and her huge, chocolate eyes were misted with sleep, they had no idea how Alex got out of bed at the crack of dawn and could be this lively. Alex was yelling about how messy the room was and how lazy they all were for letting it get that bad, Pansy made the mistake of mentioning the house elves and Alex went into complete meltdown, from their years together Lauren and Rue had learnt that when she'd like this to leave her and she'll tire herself out. Yawning, Lauren combed through her flicky, chestnut hair and looked around the room once more, Alex was still yelling, Rue was combing her own hair, Pansy was brushing her teeth and Annabeth was washing her face, while chatting to Pansy, which ended in water being sprayed everywhere and Alex's yelling increasing in volume. It took Lauren a while to realise that Alex was taking her frustration of Dean out on them and she hatched a plan, what a marauder-ish thing to do, she thought and smiled. "Alex, you're completely right," She started, winking at Rue,"We really need to learn how to clean up this place, we should all be ashamed of having to sleep here and we should never have let it get this messy. We are very sorry," Lauren gushed, smiling sweetly. "Yeah, I for one feel absoluetly terrible about this whole thing, we should take more care," Rue injected, mirroring Lauren's smile. Alex exhaled loudly, she smiled back at her best friends and flopped down onto her cosy bed, sighing as she did. Lauren sent Rue a knowing wink and she went back to brushing her knotty hair, wincing everytime she pulled some out. Eventually, the three girls were ready for breakfast, Alex was considerably calmer, Rue was as bubbly as always and Lauren was feeling good about today, she'd calmed Alex and she was going to start fresh with Sirius, she wouldn't have to pretend to hate him, which was a massive weight off her chest. They walked through the empty common room, through the dungeons, which looked ever darker and scarier today, and up into the bright, relieving entrance hall. It was amazing how large and light the marble hall seemed compared to the dungeons, they were small, cramped and had very little light but the marble gleemed, the ceiling stretched impossibly high and everything gave off a clean and polished feel. Entering the great hall, the warm scent of foods and coffee hit their nostrils, the three girls took their places at the emerald table and began sponing all sorts of food onto their gleeming plates. Lauren spooned scrambled eggs onto her plate with hashbrowns and beans, she didn't even wait for them to cool but she started shoving them into her mouth at top speed. Not caring that she couldn't even feel her tongue anymore, she helped herself to more eggs and they went as quickly as they came. "Merlin, Lauren! Slow down, you're gonna make yourself sick," Regulus cautioned, watching her with an amused expression. "No, I wont, I'm just hungry," She shrugged, diving into her food once more. "Fine, I won't look out for you then," Regulus commented and tucked into his own food. "If looking out for me means disturbing me when I'm eating than I don't want you to do that," Lauren admitted, smiling. "Urgh, whatever," "Where's Barty, anyway?" Lauren asked, noticing the empty seat on the other side of Regulus. "Hospital wing, he's ill," Regulus shrugged, though worry flitted across his face. "Oh, well I better get to class, I'll see you later I guess?" Lauren asked as she stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Yeah, see you," Regulus commented, looking gloomy like the place they were heading.

CHAPTER 37: FRIENDS AT LAST?

The three girls strode out of the hall, Alex sent one last death glare to Dean before she walked into the entrance hall, the marble gleemed underneath the golden light that fell upon it. For once, Lauren felt excited about going to potions, her and Sirius were on pleasant terms now and everything was picking up, Alex had even started hating Dean instead of moping over him, which was kind of an improvement and Rue was still perfectly happy with Edward. Finally, everything was nearly normal. They descended into the dungeons, feeling the change from the warm hall to the icy wind that blew around there, they pulled their robes closer as they made their way to the potions classroom, their teeth threatning to chatter the whole way. When they reached the class, a small queue was alreadt forming by the tall door, Alex, Lauren and Rue joined the back, waiting for Professor Greyson. The brown line where she'd cut herself yesterday tingled as she entered the potions class, she said goodbye to Rue and Alex and took her seat. Much to her surprise the stormy-eyed boy was alreadt sat at their wooden desk, he was either dead or hungover, Lauren opted for hungover. She slipped over to the desk, pulled out her books and thumped them down onto the table with all her strength. Sirius' head shot up and Lauren stifled her giggles and she took her metal seat and turned her twinkling, teal eyes to the board. "Morning," Sirius groaned, flopping back onto the table. "Good morning," Lauren replied in the cheeriest voice she could manage. She arranged her things on the table and turned to face him. His stormy eyes were misted with sleep, he had deep, indigo circles underneath them, that looked like brusies, and he kept rubbing his head, massaging his temples and rubbing his eyes. Lauren thought it was unfair that he still managed to look attractive while hungover, who else can pull of the 'I vomited, I have a pounding headache and the room is spinning' look?  
"What's got you so cheery?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "Why are you hungover?" She challenged, pulling her fair, plucked eyebrows together. Sirius wasn't ready for this, he sighed as he realised that she even looked pretty when she was frowning, who else could pull that off? "Don't sigh at me, I don't think you just had the one butterbeer," Lauren wondered what he was thinking about, she wanted to act how she usually did but she didn't want to come over too bossy, he could get annoyed at her and then they'd be back to where they started. "Okay, okay, I confess," He held his hands up in defense, while Lauren tried to fight a smile,"I may have had about six bottles of butterbeer," Sirius sighed, massaging his head once again and groaning. Sirius wondered whether he was being too flirty, he'd held his hands up to emphasize his point and he could've sworn he saw her mouth twitch. He'd never had to worry about coming on too strong before and the situation was complicated as it was. "Six?! How are you not in the hospital wing?" Lauren hissed, her teal eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. She thought about one time she'd had two butterbeers at home, she couldn't remember what exactly happened, actually she couldn't remember anything. Sirius took time to process this information, why would he be in the hospital wing, was he acting too cocky? Lauren seemed to be slightly worried if anything but he dismissed that thought. They were being pleasant, he told himself. "Why would I be in the hospital wing?" He asked, laughing lightly. Sirius was scared he was acting too cool around her, should he think over what he was saying more or would that just increase the stupidity of whatever he said? He couldn't help but notice how her eyes were twinkling especially brightly underneath the yellow glow of the candle, how her chin fitted perfectly into the palm of her hand and how her chestnut hair fell down her back like a sheet of silk. Lauren started to frett, maybe he thought she was an idiot for suggesting that. Her palms started to sweat and she had to flick her hair over her shoulders to cool her neck. But what if he thought that was her trying to flirt?  
"Alcohol poisoning you pratt," Lauren commented, laughing. Internally she was worried that he'd been offended that she'd called him a pratt but she use to do that constantly but this was different, she had no idea what it was but it was different. Sirius felt his neck burning, great, now she thought he was a pratt. He kept asking himself why he always messed up around her, it wasn't fair. Lauren sat there all calm and collected, effortlessly funny while he stammered and acted like a pratt, how was that fair? "Oh, right. You do know butterbeer only has a little bit of alcohol in it, right?" Sirius asked. Immediately he regretted saying that, he knew Lauren hated people questioning her inteligence, in fact, he'd watched her being rude to Ravenclaw's who tried to outwitt her, maybe she'd start hating him again. Sirius grimaced as he imagined her hating him again, that would be horrible. Lauren felt stupid, once again, he always managed to be effortlessly smart, she thought, he always knew relevant information. She started to worry that she looked like the biggest idiot going, she caught him grimace, was he in pain? "Are you alright?" Lauren inquired, watching him with her huge, teal eyes. She worried that she was being overly friendly, this was not like before, now she had to think about what she was going to say and decide whether he would take it wrongly or get annoyed because she was sending mixed signals. Sirius kicked himself internally, why did he have to grimace? Now she would think he was being babyish for complaining over a hangover, that was completely his fault, why couldn't he act natural? "Oh, yeah, fine," Sirius cussed under his breath, desperatly hoping she didn't hear, he'd stuttered again, what on earth was wrong with him? He was Sirius Orion Black, flirt extradionaire, player, he could get any girl, charm them, what was so different about Lauren? She was like other girls, pretty, very pretty, kinda stunning, funny, very funny, kind, really kind, did he say pretty? Lauren sighed as she realised, he was blowing her off, he didn't want her fussing over him constantly, she got it. This was a lot harder than she thought, how could she act like she did before, when nothing was like it was before. Lauren fancied her best friend, that was normal enough, a lot of girls do but when he's the hottest guy in Hogwarts and you're plain, that really doesn't work. Sirius panicked as her heard her sigh, did she not like him anymore? His palms began to sweat and the back of his neck was burning red hot, he cussed, internally this time, what was he doing wrong? "Anyway, how was the party?" Lauren asked, 'How was the party?' she asked herself, 'that's the best you could come up with?' She kicked herself internally, she thought she sounded a bit like Peter, a desperate wannabe who didn't fit in, could she have asked a lamer question? No was the conclusion she came to. 'I am Ebony Lauren Nila Colt and he is Sirius Orion Black, my best friend, we can have a conversation, surely?' She told herself, scowling at her given name. This question came as a shock to Sirius, at least she hadn't completely given up on any hopes of conversation, he could feel the other marauders stares on his back as they talked, he hadn't told them that he and Lauren were on speaking terms, how he would pay for that later. He saw her scowl and began to worry, all sorts of thoughts wizzed around his mind, what if she decided that he was boring? Was he taking too long to reply to her? He took a steadying breath. 'I am Sirius Orion Black and she is Ebony Lauren Nila Colt, she's my best friend, she may not be like other girls but I will treat her the same way I treat Lily, okay not that bad' he told himself. "It was alright, not really much fun. Four people isn't really much of a party," Sirius shrugged. He was pleased with that, that's how he would've answered Lily, although he thought his voice had been flirty, did he have a flirty voice? Sirius began to panick inside, if he used his flirty voice on her, what would she think? Maybe she'd realise how he felt, what if she never wanted to speak to him again? Urgh, they'd only just become best friends again and he was ruining it already, no, not best friends, mutal friends, wait, what the hell? Is that even a thing? Lauren felt surprised at that answer, usually when the marauders threw parties, everyone knew, the Gryffindor's certainly did and Slytherin's weren't welcome. Normally tonnes of girls would've been invited, every year and every house, except Slytherin, James was with Lily now, so obviously he wouldn't, Remus or Peter wouldn't because they're not like that and that just left Sirius, he could've had all of the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor fourth years to himself, why wouldn't he? "I guess not, your best bet is to throw it on a friday or saturday," Lauren replied, she wondered why she'd even said that, what did she know about parties? She hadn't been to a proper one with people her own age, she'd been to ones that her parents had thrown but their guests were old and talked about politics, she couldn't join in without feeling stupid, although politics did interest her. What must he be thinking of her? She'd implied that she went to parties, it sounded like she went all the time and everyone knew that was the biggest lie she'd ever told. Sirius smiled slightly as he imagined Lauren at a party in a Qudditch top and jeans, her chestnut hair scraped back into a messy bun and he pictured her reading in a corner somewhere, not drinking anything. Why did she have to be so pretty? He found it hard concentrating on anything with her around, that's why he stuttered, that's why he blushed. With every other girl he'd been with he knew, knew that they fancied the pants off of him, so it didn't matter what he said, they were already head over heels for him but with Lauren it was different, one wrong move, or one wrong word and everything would be ruined for them. "Know a lot about parties, do you, Colt?" Sirius teased. Why had he called her Colt? Now he sounded like Malfoy and she hated him. Sirius felt anger surging through him but he was angry at himself, he was acting like such an idiot, any other girl, he'd be fine but not her. The trouble was, what he felt for her was at least a hundred times stronger than what those other girls had meant, they weren't really anything to him and sometimes he did regret what he did to them. 'Why had he called me, Colt?' she asked herself, thinking back over it, he'd called her Colt last night as well. It sounded really...atractive coming from him, his soft, silky voice made it sound like a beautiful word, the name rolled of his tongue like water. She probably thought this because Malfoy had been the only other one to call her it and he used a sicking, cocky tone that was suppose to make her feel attracted to him. Lauren discovered she didn't mind being called Colt by him, it sounded really pretty and without a cocky tone behind it, the name sounded less like the close spelling that she got teased about but like the name of a flower. "When did you start calling me Colt?" Lauren asked, she couldn't help herself, she had to know why this sudden change of name. She could've sworn she saw his cheeks flash rose but that was stupid, Sirius never blushed, did he? And why was he blushing now? All Lauren had done was ask him why he'd called her by Colt instead of Lauren, what was there to blush about? Sirius knew she'd ask that, the truth was he didn't know why he'd called her Colt, it was an instinct thing, it had rolled off his tongue without meaning to. He felt blood rise to his cheeks and his neck got hotter, he never blushed, and his body chose now? Desperatly, he tried to cool his pink cheeks without her noticing but she had turned on her stool to completely face him and her beautiful teal eyes were watching his every move. "Well, I could call you Ebony but I'm told you hate that name," He teased. He wondered whether he'd overstepped the mark, she didn't appear to be angry but she could be bottling it up, best not to hex him in the middle of class, right? Sirius fretted that he was being too flirty again, what classified as too flirty anyway? Surely that would be like snogging her or something? Why did every damn thing have to sound so damn attractive? Lauren asked herself, feeling heat rising from the bottom of her stomach. She wasn't angry at him, in fact it was quite the opposite, she was annoyed because all of her names sounded amazing in his soft, silky voice, they all sounded like they should be the name of something beautiful. Lauren couldn't resist the smile that was yanking her lips up, ushering them to rise up to her cheeks, she tried to hide it by looking at the wooden desk but she knew it hadn't worked. Before she could reply, Professor Greyson swooped in, his crimson robes flying out behind him like a trail of blood, he was wearing his usual friendly smile as he turned to face the class, his grey hair gelled in it's usual fashion. "Good morning class!" Professor Greyson gushed, smiling broardly at all the students, who shared no where near the same enthusiasm, most of them wished they were back in bed,"Today we will not be brewing any potions I'm afriaid," the class groaned, the best part of potions was brewing, theory really bored them,"I know, I am truely sorry. Please turn to page 436 and answer the questions," Lauren flipped open her emerald textbook, she turned the creamy pages until she reached 436 and scanned it with her teal eyes, it was about hate potions. "We're studying love potions?" Alex called out, disgust in her voice. "Miss Brunelle, please don't shout out and no, we're not. Miss Colt?" Professor Greyson asked, smiling warmly. "Hate potions?" Lauren asked, though she knew she was correct, Alex hated potions and she couldn't really blame her. "Exactly, it brews like a love potion but you leave it for a while and it turns into hate," He explained, lowering his eyes again. Lauren pulled a piece of parchment closer, grabbed her quill, dipped it into the ink and started the questions in the book. Sirius wasn't in the mood for any lessons, his head was pounding and the room was slowly spinning, he especially didn't want potions theory, he grabbed some parchment but instead of writing, he started to draw. He had discovered that drawing was a good way to get your emotions out, when he was stuck with his family he would draw, every summer he'd draw every emotion he felt, every scrap of hatred, everytime he was reminded of those stupid pure blood rules, he would simply draw how he felt. The quill made an irritataing noise as it scratched another line but Lauren was too engrossed in her work to notice, concentration lines had appeared on her forehead and her eyebrows were pulled together, she constantly flitted her head from the book to the parchment and back again. Sirius wasn't thinking about what he was drawing, he let his hand glide across the page, keeping his stormy eyes focused on the textbook he was suppose to be reading, Lauren would occasionally glance sideways and frown but she would return to her work and refrain from making a comment. The lesson passed agonisngly slowly, students around them were groaning and complaining as the seconds ticked on, theory lessons always went and many other students were just about ready to use one of the knives to slip their throat when the bell rang, a sigh of relief escaped the class and even Lauren was smiling, glad for a hundred and fifty minutes of pure work to be over. Sirius looked down at what he'd drawn and his cheeks burned red, he'd drawn a very pretty looking girl who happened to look exactly like Lauren, right down to the freckles across her nose and cheeks. Stuffing it into his robe pocket, he tried to act casual and act like nothing had happened but he could still feel warmth in his face. Sighing, he thought how he hadn't even tried, he had no idea what he was drawing, it just sort of happened, all that he knew was that the drawing didn't do her any justice because he couldn't colour in her twinkling teal eyes or her silky, chestnut hair. "What did you draw?" Lauren asked, a friendly smile planted on her lips. "Oh, er, nothing important," He dismissed it, waving a hand in the air. "Well, can I see it?" She prompted, smiling sweetly. Sirius found it near impossible to resist yanking the parchment out of his pocket and handing it to her, the way her eyes twinkled, the way she smiled innocently, he was frightened by how much power she had over him but he liked it at the same time. "It's really bad, you don't wanna see it," Sirius lied, returning the smile. "Oh, er, okay, I better go," Lauren told him, striding across the potions classroom to join her friends who were waiting by the door.

"Can you believe him? Walking around with her, kissing her in the corridors, pretending like she's everything, it disgusts me!" Alex exclaimed as they headed out onto the lush grounds for break, the sunlight bore down on their backs as they walked and a gentil breeze swept through their hair. Lauren had completely zoned out, from the minute she'd left the potions room her thoughts had immediatly turned to Sirius, everything was different between them now but she couldn't work out whether it was for the better or for the worst. She would be lying if she said she hadn't missed him, his cute wink, his mysterious smirk, his misty eyes that could intrigue anyone, just Sirius in general. When they'd talked, it felt like they really were best friends again, the way they joked around and teased each other, Lauren couldn't help feeling that there was more to it than that, on her part anyway. It was just being pleasant, it couldn't be just that, Lauren had truely and utterly fallen in love with her best friend and the worst part was, there was nothing she could do about it. Sighing, Lauren flopped down on the perfect grass, feeling the small spikes brushing her legs as she sat. Alex had been ranting about something since they left the class, her perfectly curled hair was now frizzy and bushy, her cheeks were pink and she kept rubbing her palms frantically on her school robe. "Lauren, are you even listening to me?" Alex exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and glaring at Lauren. Snapping out of her daze, Lauren shook her head slightly and ran her fingers along the prickly grass that tickled the tips. "Er, yeah, I am, Alex," Lauren stuttered, she'd completely zoned out with her thoughts about Sirius. "As, I was saying," she scowled at her best friend,"I just can't believe he's with that whore! What has she got that I don't?" "Just make him jealous," Lauren shrugged, letting her gaze settle on the massive oak tree where the marauders sat. James was chatting to Lily, Remus was reading, Peter was staring off into space and Sirius was leaning against the trunk attempting to talk to Remus, who was just nodding polietly. "Lauren, that's it! You're actually a genius!" Alex gushed, beaming,"But who shall I date?" "What about Amos?" She suggested, her teal eyes catching the gold streaks of light that were pouring down on the grounds. "Lauren," Alex rolled her eyes,"everyone knows Amos is like in love with you," Sighing, Lauren glanced over to the tree once again, she wished that Sirius felt that way about her, Amos was nice and everything but he wasn't charming, his eyes weren't stormy and mysterious, he wasn't effortlessly smart and he certainly didn't wink or smirk.  
"Lauren!" Blinking a few times, she snapped her head back around to her friends and felt her cheeks heating up. Lauren had got completely lost in her thoughts again, that seemed to be happening a lot lately.  
"Sorry, I was, er, I was thinking about something," She mumbled, feeling her cheeks getting hotter. "Or someone?" Rue injected, smiling slightly. Lauren felt her insides churn, she couldn't tell them, how would she even begin? 'Hey guys, don't wanna worry you or anything but I've fallen in love with my best friend who just happens to be the hottest guy in Hogwarts, he'll never love me back but it's all good' She had a feeling that wouldn't be the best way to tell them. "No, I was just thinking about something for potions," She lied, feeling her eyes sliding back to the tree again. "Lauren, you know you can tell us anything, right? We're your best friends for merlin's sake!" Alex gushed, smiling. "Of course I know that, guys. I would but there's really nothing to tell you, just thinking about potions and I know for a fact you guys don't wanna hear all about that," Rolling her eyes, she sighed and looked back to the tree, apparently she wasn't the only one looking. Lauren's teal eyes met a pair of stormy grey ones, her stomach lurched, why was he looking at them? Feeling a blush creeping up her cheeks, she turned back to her friends, who were unaware of the encounter that had taken place. "Well, if there ever is you know that we'll always be here to talk. Anyway, who can Alex date that will really annoy Dean?" Rue asked, her eyes glinting mischeviously. "Well, he doesn't have to exist," Alex told them, smirking.  
"What on earth are you talking about, Alex?" "We can just pretend that one of Lauren's Qudditch buddies asked me out and I said yes, he could've sent me a letter or something?" "One, we're not buddies, two, that's actually a good idea and three, we have to talk about it loads," Lauren told them, smiling. "Then it's set," Alex announced, smiling broadly.

CHAPTER 38: JEALOUSY'S ONE OF THE WORST EMOTIONS

The rest of the day passed slowly and torturiously, they named Alex's 'boyfriend' Matthew, which confused Lauren about whether they were talking about her brother or not, their plan seemed to be working flawlessly. Dean was obviously jealous, at lunch he couldn't have been more obvious if he sat a milimeter away, he kept trying to listen between classes and his girlfriend really wasn't happy about that, which made the three girls feel immesly better. Lauren started staring into space constantly during her four lessons, letting her thoughts wander to Sirius and what he was doing, which made her good mood evaporate as quickly as it had come, until either Alex or Rue snapped her out of it, worsening her mood. The lessons droaned on, Lauren had given up on speech all together and just 'mmm'ed or nodded when Alex or Rue decided to ask her something or talk to her, she ignored basically everyone in her classes and put her hand up when she couldn't wait for any of the other students to figure it out. Lauren gradually got more impaitent with life in general as the seconds passed like hours, signing loudly and rolling her eyes far too often, every minute it appeared. Finally, the bell rang to signal the end of lessons and Lauren couldn't leave fast enough, she nearly knocked over her chair and barged past a few students to get out. Lauren stomed down the marble staircase, too angry to even wait for her friends and ran through the cold dungeons. The were as cold and dingy as always but Lauren wasn't in any kind of mood to notice, the heat from her anger was enough to block out the uncomfortable conditions of where her common room was situated. Facing the portraite, Lauren whispered the password, though she wasn't sure why as no one was down here, and climbed inside, anger rising up inside her. But she stopped dead at what unfolded in front of her. The common room fire was blazing with dancing orange flames, the emerald sofas and chairs were unoccupied, golden sunlight was drenching the room with it's rays and it was unnaturally cold. But it wasn't completly empty. Regulus and Barty were sitting on the emerald rug by the fire kissing. Kissing. Lauren's teal eyes widened at the sight but she couldn't help but realise everyone was in a relationship except her. She had no idea what to do, it was exceptionally awkward considering she was their best friend but there was no choice. Clearing her throat loudly, the two boys jumped apart, both blushing, and Lauren involentry raised her eyebrows in question. For a while no one said anything, the three of them just stared at each other, not really knowing what to say until eventually, Barty broke the eerie silence. "Lauren, we, er, we didn't expect anyone to be here at this time," Barty stammered, the blush increasing. "Clearly," Lauren replied, smiling at them both. She crossed the common room, still smiling, and sat on the same rug that they were sat on. Both boys just stared at her, searching for her reaction but she didn't seem angry at all. "We were going to tell you!" Regulus exclaimed, his cheeks still tinged pink,"We just wanted to wait for a while," "Maybe it's not the best idea to be kissing in the common room if you want to keep it quiet," She suggested, smiling at her friends. "No, it's just no one comes here straight after lessons," Barty replied, relieved she wasn't angry. Lauren felt all the anger from earlier melt away as she continued to smile at her two best friends, her mind buzzing with questions. "When did this all happen?" Lauren asked, leaning against the smooth velvet of the sofa behind her. "Er, a couple of weeks ago," Regulus answered, not meeting her gaze. "A couple of weeks?! And you didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "In my defense, I didn't know you yet," Barty replied, holding his hands up. "And what's your defense?" Lauren asked, turning to Regulus. "Er, you were busy," "That's really pitiful, you know?" "What Regulus means is you were too busy flirting with Sirius to notice," Barty told her, smirking at her blush. "What?! No I was not!" Lauren exclaimed, frowning at them. "Er, yes you were. Don't worry, he flirts back," Barty replied, smiling. "What? No, I don't, I mean we don't, we're just, urgh!" Lauren flopped down onto the emerald carpet, her cheeks flushing as Barty and Regulus watched her, amusment washing over them. "Come on, Lauren, we're not stupid. We know that you like him," Barty prompted, running his fingers through his soft, brown hair. "I don't fancy Sirius!" Lauren exclaimed, though her cheeks were crimson by this point and she wouldn't meet either of their gazes. "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm with Barty on this. I think you do," Regulus told her, smiling as she went back to rolling on the emerald rug and trying to hide her blush that was getting deeper with every word. "Lauren, are you alright?" Barty asked as he watched his best friend rolling about, mumering something. "I don't fancy him," Lauren mumbled, rocking back and forth. "Yes, you do. You might be able to fool those other two girls but not us," Barty continued, watching her, clearly amused.  
"No, I really don't. I would, I would tell you guys," Lauren met Barty's warm, hazel stare, her tongue felt like it had frozen and she couldn't will herself to say anything else. Barty was very good at manipulating people. "Go on," Regulus prompted, knowing full well what Barty was up to. "I, er," Lauren dropped her eyes,"I don't fancy him." "Lauren," Regulus started,"We both know you do," "At least I'm not snogging people in our common room!" Lauren clamped her hand over her mouth, she really hadn't meant to say that. "At least?" Barty asked, his curved, brown eyebrows raised. "Yeah, what do you mean at least?" Regulus asked, though from his many years of friendship with Lauren, he already knew. "I didn't, I mean I don't," Lauren sighed,"I don't fancy him, okay?" "Lauren-"  
"Don't Regulus, please just don't," Lauren iterupted, Barty hadn't been friends with her long enough to realise what this meant but she knew that Regulus understood perfectly. Her fancying Sirius wasn't a secret anymore. "Lauren, I know. You know that after our years of friendship I can read you like a book," Lauren glanced her teal eyes up, they met Regulus' cool, grey ones and she blushed deeper. "I didn't, I didn't ask to, okay?! I just, I don't know. Everything just changed!" Lauren exclaimed, worry lines appearing on her forehead. "So, you do?" Barty asked, he was very confused by this whole conversation. "No! No. I don't know. Maybe." Lauren sighed, rubbing her temples. "She does," Regulus commented, smiling slightly. Before anything else could be said between the trio, the portraite door swung open and students flocked in. The once silent room was buzzing with conversations, the whispers hissed around the room like a snake and the screams and shouts of hyper first years bounced off the walls. Sighing, Lauren rolled her eyes at the students and felt herself blush as she realised both Barty and Regulus' eyes were fixed upon her. "What?" Lauren asked, feeling her bad mood making another appearence. The hyper first years had started to run around the common room, jumping over furniture, interupting whispering girls and generally being annoying but they didn't stop looking at her. "Guys, why are you both staring at me like I just killed someone?" She asked, worry in her voice. "I can't believe you like him, he's so..." Barty mused for a while, his chocolate eyes glazing over. "Arrogant," Regulus finished for him. Lauren couldn't help but frown a little, sure he was arrogant but he was more than that, especially when he was around her. Smoothing out her frown, Lauren glanced anywhere but their gazes. "Well, I wasn't going to put it quite that bluntly, but yeah. Plus, he's like a slut but a guy version," Barty laughed, but Lauren looked at him furiously. It shouldn't have affected her, after all they hadn't called her a slut but it did and she didn't know why. "What exactly makes him a male version of a slut?" She asked, her eyebrows dipped. "What, apart from the fact that he's dated pratically every girl in your year, not to mention done other things," Barty replied, shrugging. "So? Wait, what do you mean other things?" Lauren asked, though she thought she had a pretty good idea, "Well, It's just that he's know for, well you know, he's know for, you know with girls," Barty stammered, blushing slightly. "Basically," Regulus started,"He has this broom cupboard in Gryffindor Tower and he's know for taking girls there and doing, er, stuff with them," He told her, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening. "I think you two are being unfair," Lauren told them, stitting up to her full hight,"You can't just call someone a slut because a few girls-"  
"It's been more than a few," Regulus injected. But Lauren carried on like she hadn't been interupted. "Because a few girls have said certain things about them. The only way to find out the whole truth is to ask him and then you can pass judgement and call him a man slut if you wish," Lauren told them, looking down her nose and trying to look stern. "Well, I'm not asking him if he's visited a broom closet recently and done anything with girls," Barty shot back, ruffling his silky hair. "Me either, we haven't spoken since my first year and that would be an awkward coversation starter," Regulus added, smirking. "What?" Lauren asked as the two boys smirked at her. "Seriously, what?" "Well, we can't ask him because we're not close enough but you-" "Oh, no! I am not asking him if that's true!" Lauren exclaimed, locking gazes with them,"How desperate would I look?"  
"You're the one that suggested that we ask him and then pass judgement," Barty countered, smiling. "Oh, Hi there, Sirius, I know we hate each other and you despise my very core but I was wondering whether the rumers about you and those girls are true because I think you're a man whore," Regulus joked, mimicking Barty's smile. "Listen guys, I appreciate that you're finally listening to me and everything but I'm not asking him if it's true! Whatever he does is none of our business and I think we should all just drop the subject," Lauren commented, staring into the crackling fire. "You don't think that it's strange that he's dated all these girls, well it's not really dating, is it? To be blunt it's just using them and then dumping them again. Not really what you'd call a relationship," Barty continued, furrowing his eyebrows. "We don't know that! This is all just based on the assumption that he's done those things!" Lauren countered, hearing her voice rise. "Lauren, I really hate to burst your bubble but you know it's true," Regulus told her, scowling at a first year who was jumping over the emerald sofas and sliding along the wooden tables. The common room was getting busy and soon they'd have to drop the subject all together, partly fear of being overheard but mostly because they'd have to shout to hear each other. "Yeah but they could just be lies, right?" She asked, her teal eyes reflecting the blazing fire. Barty and Regulus exchanged a worried glance. Lauren sighed, she knew that they weren't lies but for some reason she continued to hope. "I know," She sighed. "But have you guys noticed how he hasn't dated anyone this year?" Barty asked, a mischevious glint in his chocolate eyes. "No, because we don't stalk him like you do," Regulus teased, smirking at him. "I don't stalk him! I just notice these things and it begs the question whether he fancies someone..." He left the sentence hanging. "He might do. Lauren, has he acted any different lately?" Regulus asked, his stormy eyes alight. "Er, I don't think so. I mean, he's certainly more quiet than before..." She mused. They passed the time talking, Lauren was keen to know more about Regulus and Barty's new relationship but she couldn't ask anything because the common room was too packed. Lauren tried again at dinner but too many people were around and the last thing any one of them wanted was for someone to find out. Sirius occasionally crept up in the conversation but Lauren casually averted it and turned their attention to something else anything else. It felt like a weight lifted off of her chest now that they knew, Lauren felt sort of glad that she didn't have to lie around them, it was better that way. Night fell over the castle, the sky turned a silky black, tiny diamonds appeared and a silver mist fell through the window, Lauren, Barty and Regulus were still chatting by the fire well after nine. Half nine. Ten. Half ten. Eleven. Twelve. The clock chimed midnight, the small tinkling bouncing off the common room walls, Lauren stretched and sighed as she felt her eyelids becoming heavier and her body ached for the warmth and comfort of her bed. "We should all get to bed, we have lessons tomorrow," Barty suggested, jumping up and stretching. Lauren hadn't seen Alex and Rue since she deserted them after lessons, she felt a little bad but they didn't understand the way Regulus and Barty did. It was complicated. Just like everything else in her life. Complicated. What's new? Lauren stood up, yawned and started walking to the girls marble staircase. "Night, Lauren," Regulus called, just as she was about to start walking up the stairs. "Night, I'll see you guys at breakfast," Lauren replied before slipping up the staircase. When she climbed into bed that night, Lauren couldn't help but think about how her like was slowly improving. Everything was finally sorting itself out and maybe, just maybe everything would finally work out how she wanted.

CHAPTER 39: SWAPPING PERSONALITIES

"LAUREN GET YOUR EFFING ASS OUT OF BED!" Alex exclaimed, tugging the covers off of a very sleepy Lauren, who groaned something and rolled over. "LAUREN GET THE FUCK UP!" Lauren forced herself to climb out of bed, well she sort of slid off of the matress and landed on the floor, but she was up! Pulling herself to standing, she sighed and began to get dressed for school in silence. It was well known that anyone who talked to her in the mornings was asking for a death sentence, Alex was always the morning person, Rue was kind of middle, she got up when people asked her to and Lauren got up but was incredible moody until she was fully awake. The large dorm looked like it was on fire with crimson light from the rising sun pouring through the window, the rays danced across the furniture and it looked like flames were engulfing the walls. Eventually, Lauren was dressed, though it had taken her several attempts to put on her shirt the right way ad considering there's only two ways, that was scary to watch, and she was combing through her knotty, chestnut hair, pulling clumps out in frustration. It was way too early. Groaning, she washed her face, brushed her teeth and packed her bag for school. Slinging her material, school bag over her shoulder, she strode across the room to where Alex and Rue were waiting for her. Smiling at them both, the three girls headed out of the dormitory. The marble corridor was pratically empty, since they got up ridiciously early, and as they walked into the common room, they saw that it was empty too. It still had an evil aura in the daytime, there was just something about the room like the bricks it was made with were sinister, which was stupid but it's the way it felt. Hurrying towards the grand hall, they walked through the dungeons,which definetly had an evil feel to them, and pulled their robes closer as they strode through the freezing corridors. The warmth and light of the entrance hall was a nice change to the darkness of the dungeons and the smell that was emitting from the hall made their mouths water and their stomach's rumble. "Wotcha, Colt," Lauren spun around, expecting to see Malfoy or, well she didn't really know who to expect, but what met her eyes certainly wasn't it. Remus Lupin was leaning against the marble wall, cockyness radiating off of him, he was trying to look effortlessly cool, which wasn't exactly working. The pose reminded Lauren of how Sirius would lean when he was trying to chat a girl up, his brown hair was flopping into his honey eyes and a smirk stretched across his scarred face. Lauren frowned at him, what was he playing at? "Excuse me?" Lauren asked, her voice rising slightly as his smirk grew and his eyes were filled with nothing but arrogance. "I was just curious as to what you were doing and if I could do it with you," Remus replied, striding over to her. Striding. Smirking. What was going on? That was the most suggestive line Lauren had ever heard him say, he was usually all quiet not cocky. Never cocky. "I'm heading to breakfast and no, you cannot do it with me," She answered, dipping her fair, arched eyebrows at him. "That's okay, I didn't really mean breakfast," He replied, his smirk growing and reaching his arrogant, gold-flecked eyes. "Er, okay? I'm just going to go to breakfast now," Lauren told him, her frown dipping further. Spinning back around, she met the confused faces of her friends, shrugged and started walking to the tall, wooden doors that led to the hall. Remus was by her side the minute she started though, he shoved his hands in his pockets, look very James-esc, and smiled cockily at her, keeping her pace. Occasionally, he would ruffle his tawny hair or scoot closer but Lauren would just push him away or try to ignore him. Reaching the wooden doors, Remus leant againt one and grabbed her wrist. She yanked her arm back, frowning at him. "You know, we don't have to go to breakfast, we could go do something else," He told her with a wink. "Listen, your story time will have to wait, Remus, I'm hungry," Lauren joked, smiling at his hurt face. "Why must you do this to me?" Remus sighed dramtically, and smirked at her. "Because you're acting like a pratt. The minute you stop acting like this and revert back to nomal Remus, I'll be nice," Lauren told him. "You know, it really hurts when you call me a pratt," He replied, pouting his lower lip, Sirius-esc, and made his honey eyes sad. "You know, I really don't care. Now, I'm going to breakfast," Lauren turned away from the slouching boy, joined Alex and Rue and walked over the the table draped in emerald. They each sat down on the smooth, wooden bench and began filling their plates with all the delcious foods, there were too many to chose from, so Lauren put them all on her plate, and was surprised to see the marauders already eating. "What was the Remus thing all about?" Alex asked, shoveling beans into her mouth and glaring at Dean, who was at the royal blue table. "No idea," Lauren shrugged,"Just some idiotic thing they've planned, probably," She glanced her teal eyes up, Remus was smirking at her from the ruby table, his cocky smirk. Lauren rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention back to her food. "It's really scary seeing Remus acting like that," Rue whispered,"He looks, I don't know, arrogant," Lauren glanced over to the Gryffindor table once again, even though every inch of her instincts was screaming at her not to, and discovered what they'd done. Peter kept trying to put this arm round a furious Lily Evans, she either shook it off or threatened him, probably to hex him, it was actually quite an amusing sight. As soon as Remus made eye contact, Lauren scowled and dropped her gaze as he smirked.  
"So, Peter's being James," Lauren told them,"I take it James is being Remus because he's just kind of sitting there, Sirius must be Peter than Remus is...Sirius?" Laurem mumbled, more to herself than to Alex or Rue. "But that makes no sense? Remus is acting more like Malfoy then Sirius," Rue replied, concentration lines appearing on her forehead. "That's what I was thinking," Lauren mused,"I don't know. They can be so childish sometimes," She rolled her eyes. Luckily, Regulus and Barty walked in as soon as she'd said this, they both looked extemely tired and Lauren admired how they disguised their realtionship so well. They took their places at the emerald table and started filling their plates up with food, making small talk with each other. "Why is Remus staring at you?" Regulus asked, shoving a whole fried egg into his mouth and taking a gulp of juice. "They've done this whole role reversal thing. I think he's being Sirius," Regulus nearly spat his food out at these words, he managed to swallow his food before the coughing began and drained his goblet. Barty just smiled his knowing smile while Lauren looked blankly at them both, her eyebrows raised as she ate small pieces of her own food. "Let me guess, Remus has been pretty much non-stop hitting on you? Smirking and acting completly out of character?" Regulus asked, glancing over to the Gryffindor table and scowling at Remus, who was still staring. "Er, yeah," Lauren replied,"How did you know? You weren't here yet." "Ah, I see what he's trying to do," Barty said, more to Regulus then to Lauren, who was frowning at them both. "Yeah, it's kinda clever actually but he must know that it's completly obvious? " He replied, smiling at Barty. "Maybe," Barty shrugged,"The marauders aren't the smartest people," "Will one of you please tell me what you're talking about?" Lauren demaded, scowling as she felt Remus smirk at her again. "Remus is trying to tell you something, Lauren," Regulus prompted, raising his eyebrows. "Er, okay, what?" She asked, her confusion growing as the conversation went on. "Oh, c'mon?" Barty asked, disbelief washing over his attractive features. "She doesn't think like a boy, Bart, so she won't understand," Regulus shrugged, eating another egg. "Which is why I need you guys to help me on that part..." Lauren prompted, smiling at them. "Remus is trying to tell you that he thinks you and Sirius flirt," It was Lauren's turn to nearly choke, she had to down her whole goblet of pumpkin juice before she thought it was safe to talk again, and even then she spoke quietly. "What? How do you guys even know that?" she challenged, putting her hands on her hips and turning to face them. "Because we have boy logic, which means we understand better like girls can exchange a look and know what the other is thinking," "Okay, one, we only do that because it's easier and two, why would Remus even think that?" She asked. "Er, Lauren, you sort of do," Regulus admitted, frowning at Remus who was staring again. "No, I really don't. We just talk, normal talking, not flirting," Lauren replied, her voice rising. "Okay, okay. Whatever you think," Regulus replied, smiling into his breakfast. "Good, now please help me. I can't take anymore of his smirks," She sighed, taking small mouthfulls of her breakfast. "I'll help," Barty exclaimed. Picking up a gold fork, he squinted his chocolate eyes aiming and flinged it across the hall. Glinting in the sunlight, it landed straight in front of Remus, who looked straight up with his fellow marauders. Lauren and Regulus had erupted in laughter while Barty smiled sweetly and waved at them. They scowled back, especially Sirius, and Barty started laughing with his friends.  
"I didn't mean throw something at them," Lauren gasped through her laughter. "I find that forks are easier than words," Barty shrugged, still laughing. Lauren glanced over at the ruby table, Sirius, James and Remus were still eviling them but their expressions softened slightly when they met her twinkling teal eyes and mouthed 'sorry'. "Oh, no," Barty said, his voice full of sadness. "What?" Lauren and Regulus asked in sync, worry in their voices. "I have nothing to eat my breakfast with," he replied and the three of them started laughing again. "You really should apologise to them, you threw a fork at them and they hadn't exactly done anything to you," Lauren lectured, frowning. "What? I'm not apologising to that man whore and his stupid friends!" Barty exclaimed, Regulus tried to hide his chuckle but looking into his breakfast but Lauren noticed and Barty started laughing too. "Don't call him that! Anyway, they haven't done anything to you, so why hate them?" She reasoned, smiling sweetly. "Because one of them is man whore," He replied, his chocolate eyes swimming with laughter. "Stop it!" Lauren snapped,"I'm not asking you to become their best friends, just say sorry," "Awh, Lauren, did Barty touch a soft spot?" Regulus teased, ruffling her chestnut hair and making it static. "No!" She shouted, desperatly trying to flattern her hair with her hands. "Don't Regulus, she'll get all self consious," Barty teased, smiling at her scowl. Lauren was still trying to flatten her hair that refused to straighten out, it either went static or flicky, neither of which she liked. "Both of you shut up," Lauren sulked, frowning and pouting her lower lip. "Alright, alright," Regulus gushed, holding his hands in the air,"Just remember to ask Sirius about those girls," "What?" Lauren snapped, her teal eyes flaring with anger,"I'm not asking him that!" "Please, Lauren? You said that we needed to find out before we passed judgement," Barty reminded her, he made his chocolate eyes huge and pleading, they seemed endless and Lauren felt absorbed by them. "Don't do that!" she snapped, narrowing her teal eyes at him,"I'm not asking and that's final." "Listen, you can tell him why you're asking and everything," Regulus told her, stabbing a piece of fluffy scrambled egg and shoving it into his mouth. "Regulus-" Lauren raised her fair eyebrows at him. "Lauren," He said, mirroring her look and smirking at her scowl. "No, I'm not asking him," She told them, folding her arms across her chest and narrowing her eyes. "Pleaseeeee?" Barty asked, looking innocent. Lauren sighed, Barty was very good at manipulating people, he could look a certain way or talk in a specific tone of voice and people would do anything for him. "What am I gonna say? Oh, Hi there, I was just wondering if the storys about you and all those girls are true because my friends think you're a man whore," She sighed, raising her eyebrows at them. "It's a plan," Regulus exclaimed and beamed. "What? No! I.." "Thanks, Lauren. We knew we could count on you," Barty added, smirking. "No, I-" "We'll see you at break and catch up," Regulus told her, still beaming. "Guys-" "You've got potions, right?" Barty didn't wait for an answer,"Great! We'll see you then and you can tell us what he said!" "And then we can pass judgement," "No-" "So glad you agree, Lauren! You should probably get going to lessons, you need to think up a plan," Barty exclaimed, prodding her. "No-" "See you later," Regulus waved,"Alex, Rue," the two girls turned around and eyed him suspiciously,"Lauren wants to leave," "No-"  
"Er, okay. Thanks." Alex commented,"Let's go Lauren," Alex slid out from the smooth, wooden bench, grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, Rue did the same. "What? No, I-" Lauren stuttered as she got up, slung her material bag over her shoulder and was forced out of the hall by Regulus and Barty, who were pushing her forward, scowling as she walked. "We love you, Lauren!" Barty called over the buzzing conversations of the hall. Lauren turned back to glare and them and disappeared out of the hall, a smile tugging on her lips.

They took their usual route to the potions classroom, through the damp, dark dungeons, that sent shivers down their spines. Compared to their other routes that they took to get to class, this was by far the worst one, the dungeons always looked evil, even when golden sunlight illuminated the narrow corridors or when silver moonlight draped through the high, small windows. Lauren wanted to hex whoever thought that putting the Slytherin common room down there was a good idea, or making them attend potions classes, it was way too cold and uninviting. The passageways twisted and turned underneath the castle, many classrooms were unused and were left abandoned with old cauldrons or disgarded textbooks, that were falling apart, there was no point in using them. Pulling her robe closer to her body, Lauren weaved through the many corridors, with Alex and Rue at her sides, and reached the tall, embony door that led to their classroom. Her mind had been filled with thoughts about this place and why anyone would force students to take classes here that she'd forgotten about what Regulus and Barty had asked/forced her to do. Sighing, Lauren thought over how to even begin that conversation, she obviously couldn't just come straight out and ask but how do you worm something like that into general conversation? It was strange how she managed to have loads of classes with Sirius since her feelings had changed, potions was almost every day since their OWLS would be coming up soon, and History of Magic lessons were more regular than last year. The tall, dark door swung open and Professor Greyson appeared, looking vivid crimson against the black of the door, his grey hair flopping slightly from the gell and his usual friendly smile planted firmly on his pale face. The students flooded into the potions class, the buzz of conversations filling the air like swarms of bees. Lauren weaved in and out of the rows of pewter cauldrons to get to her seat, occasionally she would hit her hip on one and wince, they were tightly compact which meant that there wasn't that much room to move. Pulling out the silver, metal stool, that glinted in the half-risen, caramel sun, she took her space and mused over how she would ask Sirius about those girls. Thinking about them made a stab of jealous hit her stomach but she did her best to ignore the taunts and jealousy that hit her when she thought about them and work out a plan. It had to be subtle but it couldn't look like she cared, Lauren had to pull of the impossible. Much to her annoyance, Sirius was on time, he always was because potions was the only class she liked but Lauren hoped anyway, he strode over and took his seat. Sighing, Lauren pulled out her velvet, emerald book, her eagle quill and a crystal vile of ink. She had to get a conversation started. But how? "Hey," Sirius greeted, smiling warmly and arranging his things on the rough, wooden desk. Lauren was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice that Sirius had said anything, her teal eyes looked glassy and she had worry lines on her forehead. Sirius clicked his fingers in front of her face, Lauren looked up startled. Her teal eyes looked misted like when people first wake up in the morning. "Huh?" Lauren asked, the worry lines smoothing out and her eyes returning to their ususal twinkling state. "I said hello but you were obviously caught up in your thoughts and didn't hear me," He told her, his eyes misting in the eerie glow. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something," She replied, turning her twinkling eyes towards Sirius and smiling warmly. "Yeah, I noticed," Sirius joked and smirked,"What were you thinking about?" He asked, glancing towards the board and then back to her.  
"Oh, er, nothing," Lauren stuttered, she felt her cheeks heating up and fixed her bright eyes on the board. "Well, it must've been something? You were completely lost in your thoughts," Sirius replied, his cool, grey eyes quzzing. "I mean, obviously it was something," Lauren rolled her eyes,"But it's not important."  
"Is something on your mind? You just seem," he paused, musing,"Kind of distant lately," Sirius told her, worry flitting across his carved features. Lauren wondered how he could read her so well, she hadn't said anything, she hadn't specifically done anything but he knew. How did he know? It seemed impossible that you could know something was wrong just by looking at them but he'd managed to. "Who me? Yeah, you know me, I'm always thinking about something," She joked, laughing lightly, her teal eyes glistening.  
"Yeah, I do know you. And I know that somethings not right, so what's up?" Sirius asked, no humour or arrogance left in him. "The sky," Lauren breathed, rearranging her textbook and parchment for something to do. Sirius just looked at her, his thick, black eyebrows pulled together, making lines appear on his forehead. "You asked me what's up," Lauren shrugged, smiling. But Sirius was being serious, no pun intended, he wasn't smiling but looking intently at her, his piercing gaze never lifting. "You know what I meant," He answered, his voice strangly somber, there was no humour left in his features, there was no arrogance. "There's nothing bothering me," she sighed,"I was just thinking in general. Last time I checked I was allowed to think," she replied. "What were you thinking about, though?" Sirius asked, not even bothering to pretend he was paying attention. "Why does it matter?" Lauren snapped,"That's why I have a head; to keep things private," She sighed again and tried to pay attention. "Well, I'm sorry for caring about my best friend, last time I checked I was allowed to do that," Sirius snapped back, frowning. Lauren couldn't help but noticed how he'd called her his best friend, even though they were arguing less than a week ago.  
"Don't get snappy at me," She sniped,"You were the one that started asking me questions."  
"Excuse me for caring," Sirius snapped,"Next time I'll pretend not to care and ignore you," He turned his grey eyes to the front. "Better yet you could just not care," Lauren snapped back, a warmth was surging from her stomach and her hands were balled in fists. "I wish," He scoffed. Lauren wasn't paying attention to whatever professor Greyson was saying, his voice droaned out like someone turning the volume down on a radio, but her full attention was on Sirius. Lauren wondered what he meant by this. "You wish that you'd stop caring about me?!" Lauren hissed, anger rising in her voice and her eyebrows dipped in the middle. "No!" he hissed back,"I didn't mean it like that! I just, I meant, don't worry," Sirius sighed, massaging his temples. "Don't worry, I know exactly what you meant," She snapped, hurt and anger breaking into her voice. "No, you don't," he snapped back, narrowing his eyes,"You have no idea what I meant. Lauren felt heat rising up her cheeks. "If you're trying to tell me something just come out and say it! Because I'd love to hear it!" She hissed, narrowing her teal eyes. "The truth is that you can't stand people actually caring about you because you're so intent in needing no ones help or care that you're pushing away the people that are worried. You're trading your need for independence for people that care," Sirius snapped. Lauren just sat there, just sat there stupidly gawping at him because she knew he was right, he was only trying to be friendly and she was the one that started snapping. But Lauren wasn't the kind of person to say sorry and admit that she was in the wrong. "No one asked you to care!" Lauren snapped back, narrowing her eyes at him and pulling her eyebrows together. "Tell me about it," Sirius sniped, his voice curt and icy. Lauren couldn't help the lump that was rising in her throat, her eyes started prickling and they glimmered a lot more than ususual. It shouldn't of effected her but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of hurt. "If that's how you feel," her voice broke, Sirius turned to look at her but she turned her head away and cleared her throat. Something changed, her hurt changed to anger, she was furious at him for making her feel like this. "You don't get to just decide to feel like this!" Lauren exclaimed,"You can't just choose to come in with a shitty attitude and make everything my fault-"  
"Lauren-" "No!" she hissed,"You don't just get to act like best friends one day and then change the next!" Her voice was rising with every word. "Lauren-"  
"You know what? We're either friends or we're not. There is no in the middle," Lauren snapped, interupting him again. "Just hear me out-" "No, I don't want to hear anything that you have to say, Sirius!" And with that, Lauren turned her head away, blocking him by a sheet of her silky, chestnut hair and ignoring every attempt he made to speak to her. For the rest of the lesson, Lauren ingored him, concentrating on the work she'd been set, even though she still had no idea what it was about. "Lauren-" "No, Sirius!" But he had caught attention now and he would make her listen to him whether she wanted to or not. Snatching the parchment she was writing on, Sirius shoved it inside his own textbook and stole her one too. "Hey!" Lauren was left with her quill and nothing else, glowering at him. "All I meant was that sometimes I care too much," Sirius admitted, looking straight into her glistening, teal eyes, she stared right back into his stormy ones, held there by some invisible bond that locked their eyes together. "How, how can you care too much?" Lauren asked, not breaking eye contact. "I don't, I don't know, I just, do," He stuttered, staring into her beautiful eyes. "There's no such thing as caring too much," Lauren countered, frowning slightly. "There is if it doesn't correspond with the realtionship." "What?" The chiming of the bell made them break eye contact, Lauren grabbed her things back and shoved them into her bag. Not looking back at him, she rushed over to Alex and Rue and they exited the classroom.

CHAPTER 40: SKIPPING CLASS

Lauren couldn't be bothered to talk to anyone anymore, all the emotions that she was feeling were bubbling over like boiling water, all she wanted was to be alone. Without an explaination, Lauren peeled away from her two friends, who were heading for the hall, and exited through the tall, worn doors. The first thing that hit her was a gentil, cooling breeze that flicked her chestnut hair over her shoulders, it refreshed her tired eyes and making all the anger ebb away like peeling paint from an old building. Striding across the lush, green grounds, she felt the strong, amber sun glaring down on her back, warming and relaxing. Lauren headed for the black lake, the silvery water swished underneath the gentil breeze and it appeared to ripple on it's own accord, the giant squid was showering the students with sprays of warm, reflective water. The water was as clear as glass and refracted every beam of light just like diamonds, the ripples started off at the centre until they hit the hard, muddy edge and lapped against the sides. The sky was the perfect topaz blue and the clouds hung around like opals, except they appeared to have the texture of cotton wool. Sitting down on the edge of the bank, Lauren hugged her knees to her chest and stared out onto the silky, sapphire surface, the rustling of the leaves sounded like paper being scrunched up, the rippling of the lake sounded like a dripping tap and low mumers of conversation hung around in the air. The peridot grounds were prestine, a few clumps of students were sitting in small circles, talking about unimportant things, but none of these things penetrated her mind. Lauren let the tranquil sounds consume her, the rustling of the trees rung in her ears and the lapping of the satin water relaxed her, everything she'd been feeling ran through her like she was a component on a circuit and electricity was coursing through. The gentil breeze caressed her face, making her feel alert and refreshed and the strong, caramel rays of the sun poured down onto her. Her aquamarine eyes looked glassy as she lost herself in her thoughts, Lauren didn't even notice the glaring sun or soft wind, there wasn't enough room left in her head. The citrine sun continued to beat down on her while Lauren let her thoughts run around in her mind, questions kept hitting her like a ricoocheting bullet, everything murged together and she couldn't desipher anything. She didn't want to do anything, Lauren wanted to freeze that moment and live in it forever, she wouldn't have to be confronted or attend her lessons, she could just get lost in her thoughts. The spikey, olivine grass tickled her pale hands as she ran them through it, the tips brushed her fingers as she leant back and bathed in the warm sunlight. Sighing, Lauren forced herself to return to reality, the reality was that she had History of Magic next with the Gryffindor's and Sirius would want to talk to her about what happened. She couldn't think of anything worse, whatever happened between them happened a lot and there was no point in being friends if they were going to argue. 'It's just one lesson' Lauren told herself but she couldn't help grimacing as she imagined what would happen. The bell chimed to signal the end of break, it's loud ripples of sound reaching every corner of Hogwarts, but Lauren couldn't force herself to get up. Her muscles and limbes simply refused to obey her mind, they rebelled against any action and stayed as weighed to the floor as an anchor. She decided. Once again, she would skip her classes, not because she was trying to be a rebel, but because she simply didn't want to face him again. His stupid misty eyes. His stupid carved features. His pathetic wink. His effin smirk. Lauren let this thoughts run through her head but she knew that she didn't feel that way, she was just building another facade, one that she was sure would shatter in a million pieces like a smashed mirror. For one tiny second, Lauren didn't care if she was caught skipping classes, she was so over run with everything else that was going on that she had no room for worry, she was about to burst like putting too much air into a balloon. Lauren just fixed her glistening, azone eyes on the silvery, satin lake, letting her emotions and thoughts fill her up and engulf her.

MEANWHILE

Sirius Black took his seat in History of Magic, staring at the empty seat next to him where Lauren should be sitting but the metal chair was left abandoned and he'd seen no sign of the chestnut-haired girl. The wooden desk felt oddly bare without her there, whether she was shouting at him, joking or ignoring him altogether, he hadn't realised how much her presence had effected him. Until now. When she was no where to be seen. His cool, grey eyes would automatically slide to the chair next to him, expecting to see Lauren with her chin in the crook of her hand, her chestnut hair falling down her back like expensive material and her teal eyes glittering underneath the candle light. But he was greeted with an empty, metal chair and silence. Sirius couldn't belive how much of an impact her absence had on him, he even missed the insufferable noise the scratching of her quill made on the parchment when she was rushing to take notes. The wooden desk felt bare, it felt almost empty like something very important was missing but it was only one girl. From the expressions of Alex and Rue, they didn't know where she was either; Alex kept glancing to the tall classroom door and Rue kept darting her eyes to the empty seat next to him. Sirius missed Lauren more than he cared to admit, he missed her lectures, her silence, her missed seeing her roll her eyes at him and James when they talked, he missed her. Just her. He missed Lauren in general, just everything about her. Twirling his hawk feather quill in his fingers, he turned his cool, grey eyes to the front where professor Dombey was setting up but they kept sliding either to the door or to the space next to him. Sirius couldn't help feeling that her absence was his fault, he didn't know why but something inside of him knew that he was the reason she wasn't there. That thought made him feel worse as he gazed longingly at the empty chair, he knew he would have to apologise sooner or later. He picked later. Turning his attention to the front once more, Sirius tried to push all the thoughts about Lauren out of his mind but that was easier said then done. The seconds ticked on and it became more and more apparent that Lauren wasn't going to show, even Alex and Rue realised and stopped checking the door every five seconds, though they did still glance. Sighing, Sirius glanced at the space once more and forced his attention to the front, keeping his head locked forward. "Has anyone seen Miss Colt?" Professor Dombey asked, glancing over his half-circle glasses at the empty seat. Silence greeted his question and when Alex and Rue shook their heads, worry flitted across the ghosts pure white face. "Not to worry, I'm sure she's just ill and with Madam Pomfrey." He didn't seem very sure though, his mouth was slightly drooping at one side, his eyebrows were dipped and he kept darting his eyes over to Sirius' table, where Lauren should be seated. "Let's begin," The ghost announced, making his face expressionless once more and launching into some boring lecture. In turn, most heads in the room turned to look at the empty seat, Sirius would shift uncomfortably under their stares, they were glaring like he'd killed her, and try and tune them out along with professor Dombey. The lesson passed agonisingly slowly, all he could think about was where Lauren was and whether it had anything to do with what happened earlier that day. Professor Dombey droaned on, though occasionally Sirius would catch him staring at the empty seat in an almost sorrowful way, as soon as he saw Sirius looking he would avert his gaze and his features would return to normal. Rue and Alex kept whispering to each other over desks and sharing worried glances, Rue couldn't keep her huge, chocolate eyes away from the door and Alex's features contorted into a worried expression every time her eyes fell upon the space where Lauren should be. Even James looked anxious and he was the most laid back person Sirius knew. Something was very wrong. "Padfoot!" James hissed, his voice urgent. Sirius turned around, a frown in place. "What?" He asked, smoothing out his brow and leaning closer to the desk behind. "You have any idea where Lauren is?" He replied, worry flitting across his features. "If I did I would've told Dombey," Sirius snapped, narrowing his cool, grey eyes. James looked taken back by his friend snapping, his hazel eyes widened slightly and he tilted back on his chair. "What's up with you?" James asked, concern hitting his voice. "Nothing," he hissed back, rolling his eyes. The bell announced the end of lessons, it's chime reached every class, Sirius couldn't help but feel relieved. Jumping up, he slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed out of the classroom, leaving his very confused friends behind. He had to find Lauren.

The silvery water rippled underneath the gentil wind, the glossy water reflected the bright, caramel sun and it lapped lightly against the muddy, hard bank. Lauren was still sat on the lush, erinite grass, her blue zircon eyes watching every ripple or swirl the silky lake made. The gentil, wintry breeze swept over her pale face, blowing her tawny hair behind like a silky cape, it cooled her down and appeared to seep into her skin and relax her muscles. The low rustling of the trees and gentil lapping of the lake were the only things that filled the silence that had fallen on the lush, vast grounds. The grey stone of the castle looked like they were encrusted with millions of tiny diamonds as the golden light draped them and turned them from dull to glossy and expensive. Lauren was still thinking, absentmindedly stroking the sharp, emerald grass that tickled the tips of her fingers. The smell of flowers lingered around in the air, drifting from the Herbology greenhouses that glinted in the strong sun, the smell of vanila dominated the air, it was probably from some unqiue plant that they were growing. Sighing, Lauren yanked out a tuff of jade grass, the anger she felt towards Sirius was still bubbling away inside her, threatning to errupt like a volcanoe. She was completely lost in her thoughts she didn't hear the thudding footsteps appraoching. "Lauren?" The one person she wanted to talk to least with his silky voice and pathetic smirk.  
"What do you want?" She spat back, her voice icy and full of malice. "Listen, I'm sorry if I upset you in potions. I was just wondering why you didn't attend History of Magic, I think I have a good idea," Sirius replied, she could hear the smile in his voice. Lauren felt warmth surge through her, her cheeks heated up. When she didn't say anything Sirius continued. "It was something to do with me, I don't know what I did but you didn't show because of me," It wasn't a question, he was stating but Lauren couldn't accept him knowing, so she decided to deny the whole thing. "You really are arrogant, you know that?" Lauren sniped, getting up and turning to face him, her teal eyes narrowed. "There's no point in lying, I know that it had something to do with me," He told her, his voice stern and sure of himself. "Yes because everything in my life has something to do with you," Lauren commented sarcastically, balling her hands into fists. "I know that this does, we have an argument in potions and suddenly you don't show up to a class where you have to sit next to me? Bit Ironic, don't you think?" Sirius asked, his stormy eyes blazing with anger. "Why can't you get it into your thick head and stop being so cocky?!" Lauren spat,"It had nothing to do with you!" "Why were you off then?" he challenged,"You don't look very ill to me!" "Well run along then! Go and tell Slughorn that I skipped class, I dare you!" She snapped, her voice full of malice and hate. "Maybe I should but I'm not going to. You know why? Because I care about you, Lauren! I don't know what issues you've got about people caring but you shut everyone out because you don't want to accept that fact!" Sirius shouted, fisting his hands. "I don't shut people out!" Lauren shouted, matching his volume,"I just don't want people knowing everything about me!" "I'm not trying to know everything about you! You know, ever since you came back from Christmas holidays everythings changed! What did I do that was so unforgivable, Lauren?!" He exclaimed, narrowing his stormy eyes at her. "For once, can everything just not be about you?! Can you just except the fact that not everything in my life is something to do with you?! Are you that self centered that you can't even realise that much?!" She shouted, her voice rising. "I'm just stating the facts! We were best friends and then something changed! Why are you always shutting people out?! People generally care and you just push them away! Why are you so hostile?!" Sirius shot back, knitting his thick, black eyebrows together. Lauren felt like someone had just kicked her in the chest, anger was surging though her but it was mixing with hurt. Her tongue froze in her mouth, her teal eyes widened and she felt them prickling with tears. "I don't shut you out, Sirius!" Lauren shouted, though her voice broke halfway through and she couldn't continue what she wanted to say.  
"Yes, you do! You didn't before, before this thing!" he waved his hand between himself and her,"We use to talk about everything, you would always tell me what's wrong or if you were upset or if you had a problem but something changed! I have no idea what but you closed yourself off from me! You started to hate me and you haven't even told me what I've done! We were bestfriends but what are we now? Having arguments, flitting from hate to friends to bestfriends and back to hate! What did I do, Lauren?! What did I do that was so bad that it broke apart our friendship and made you hate me?!" Lauren hadn't heard Sirius shout like this before, he was always so relaxed and laid-back, she'd never seen him this worked up. And it scared her. All she could do was stare wordlessly at him, everything had changed, he was completely right. Lauren felt something slid down her cheek, something warm and salty, she didn't feel like arguing anymore, sadness had washed over her, pulling her down like a hurricane. How had everything gotten this bad? Wiping away the tear with with cuff of the robe, Lauren watched Sirius with her watery, teal eyes. His features softened and went back to how they always looked, he even looked kind of guilty. The smell of vanila filled her nostrils once more, Lauren just stared straight into his cool, grey eyes, locking them together. Sirius hesitated for a moment, like he was deciding something with himself, he started to move forward but stopped abruptly. Meanwhile, Lauren was racking her brain for something to say as the tears fell down her cheeks. She took a deep shuddering breath, how could they have gone from a shouting match to her crying in a matter of minutes? Finding no words, Lauren sunk back down to the jade, soft grass and trained her eyes on the silvery, rippling lake once again. Sirius sat down beside her, watching Lauren with his cool, grey eyes. She never turned her glassy, aquamarine eyes away from the lake, she watched the ripples as they spread across the satin surface. Lauren wondered why everything all had to be at extremes in her life, one minute everythings horrible, the next its basically perfect but it always manages to fall back to horrible again. "What are we going to do, Lauren?" Sirius sighed, turning his head to the silky lake and pulling up tuffs of emerald grass. "I don't know," she sighed,"I really don't know, Sirius." Lauren laughed lightly but it was one full of sadness and despair.  
"What changed between us? We use to be so close, what happened?" He asked, staring out onto the glossy surface of the black lake. "I guess circumstances change," Lauren sighed,"People change." Sirius kept trying to catch her eye but she never met his gaze. "I suppose, I always thought it'd be us forever, you know?" Sirius asked, smiling. "What?" Lauren asked, sharper than she'd meant to. "Oh, no, I didn't mean, I meant all of us, I didn't just..." He trailed off, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. "I know what you meant," Lauren assured him, though she hadn't really,"Like I said, people change," She stared glassy-eyed into the distance. "I don't think people change," Sirius mused,"I think the situations do and people adapt." "That was deep, Sirius," Lauren joked and laughed, her proper laugh, full of nothing but humour. "I know that sounds really pathetic," he continued, smiling,"but it's the truth." "No, it doesn't. I understand exactly what you mean and it describes this perfectly," Lauren replied, smiling. "Really?" Sirius asked, startled,"What situation changed?" It was Lauren's turn to blush, she felt blood rise to her cheeks as she stared out onto the gleeming lake, making sure not to make eye contact with him. "Oh, you know, just, er, lessons, and, er, y'know, stuff," Lauren stuttered, feeling her blush deepen as he watched her intently. "No, I don't know? What stuff changed?" He asked, his gaze not leaving her. Lauren cussed internally, she shouldn't of said that. "Just, er, things," She had no idea what to tell him, Lauren couldn't really lie, especially not to him, and the truth wouldn't help anyone. "That's not really helping, what kind of things?" Sirius pressed, his curiousity peaked. "It really doesn't matter, just forget I said anything." Lauren told him, the blush creeping up her cheeks. "But I don't wanna forget," Sirius said seriously,"Just tell me," Lauren sighed, she couldn't tell him. "Just, er, just..." She thought hard,"Just, er, school," She stumbled. "But nothings changed at school?" He phrased it like a question and knitted his eyebrows together. "Please, just forget it," Lauren asked, regretting she'd said anything. "Shouldn't you go and have lunch or something?" "I guess I should," Sirius mused,"Are you gonna attend your afternoon lessons?" Lauren thought about this for a while, she was still too confused, too emotional to listen to a teacher droaning on and on. "Nah, I don't think I will," She shrugged. Sirius' face lit up in a huge smile, the grin stretched from ear to ear, making his stormy eyes flood with humour and warmth. "What?" Lauren asked, suddenly consious. "No, nothing," He answered, still grinning stupidly. Lauren couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked when he was smiling like this, his eyes misted and his features softened completely. "What? What did I do?" She asked, worry flitting across her face. "Nothing," Sirius shrugged, the grin widening. "Tell me!" Lauren demanded, frowning at him. "It's just you're suddenly being all rebelious," He admitted, laughing lightly. Lauren felt her cheeks warming up, they were certainly pink.  
"I'm not!" She exclaimed, dipping her eyebrows,"I'm not exactly bunking," Sirius's thick, dark eyebrows shot up and his face wore a skeptical look, mixed with the massive grin that was still there. "I'm not!" "Then what exactly are you doing, Lauren?" Sirius asked, still grinning. "I'm, well, I, er, I, It's complicated, okay?!" She sighed, rubbing her temples. "No, It's not complicated at all. You're bunking because you don't want to attend your classes," he told her. "Well, yeah but I, well, I," Lauren sighed again,"You really wouldn't understand." "Try me," "You really wouldn't understand." "Just try," "Okay. I need to think things over," Lauren told him, blushing slightly. "Why can't you do that after school?" He asked, frowning. "See? I told you that you wouldn't understand!"  
"I swear you're constantly thinking?" Sirius asked, smiling. "I have a lot to think about," Lauren shrugged,"You really wouldn't understand." "You're skipping classes to think...?" "Urgh! Don't even bother yourself with it," Lauren sighed, laughing. "Hey! I'm trying!" Sirius exclaimed, holding his hands up. Lauren laughed again. "I know," She sighed,"It's just..." She didn't bother finishing the sentence. How do you tell the person you love that you can't get them out of your head? How can you express what you feel everytime they're around? How can you explain something you don't even understand. But Lauren still tried to put her emotions into words, which didn't work at all. "Just what?" Sirius asked, his voice kind and gentil as were his stormy eyes. Emotion flitted across them, she thought is was...but it couldn't be. Could it? Lauren sighed again and put her head in her hands. "Have you ever loved someone you know you shouldn't?" Lauren asked, her voice muffled slightly by her hands. Sirius' head shot up, his stormy eyes widened and his mouth was slightly parted. "Er, I, er, I guess," he stuttered, pushing his black, silky hair back from his face. "It's like it hurts..." Lauren mused, more to herself than him,"but kind of a good hurt." Sirius didn't say anything else, he just watched her with his cool, grey stare, wondering why she was saying all these things. "It's strange, like it's wrong but right." she continued, completely forgetting he was there,"Like you care more but less. It's bad but kinda good." Her mouth pulled up slightly at these words but Sirius was just as confused as ever, he pulled his thick, black eyebrows together. "You realise that makes absoluelty no sense?" He asked, a smile playing on his thin, pale lips. "It doesn't have to make sense, it will never make sense to anyone," Lauren mused, her topaz eyes becoming glassy,"Except the person. It will always make sense to them because it's how they feel." The low hum of conversation was starting to fall over the grounds, students had finished lunch and were making their way out onto the lush, warm grounds. The scent of vanila was stronger than ever, swirling all around the castle and filling her nostrils. "Er, okay?" Sirius asked, his eyes darting from the chestnut-haired girl to the rippling, silver lake. "Like I said, it only makes sense to the person who feels that way. To anyone else it would sound mental," She replied, a sorrowful tone to her voice. "Are you, are you saying that you're in love with someone?" He asked, glancing around the olivine grounds, only a few students were around but the air buzzed with their conversations. "I, I," Lauren sighed again,"No, I was just saying," "Are you sure? Because I know we're not exactly best friends right now but you can tell me," Sirius told her, smiling warmly. "I just," she sighed, that was becoming a bad habit,"There's just this guy-" Lauren stopped mid-sentence, a familiar chocolate-eyed girl and sky-eyed girl were striding out onto the bright, emerald grass, casting their heads around."Sorry but I've gotta go," She excused, jumping up and slinging her erinite bag over her shoulder. Flicking her chestnut hair over her shoulders, Lauren smiled to Sirius once more and rushed off, leaving a very confused stormy-eyed boy by the silvery, satin lake.

Lauren rushed over the prickly, olivine grounds, the blazing, strong citrine sun boring down on her back. Her silky, smoked topaz hair flying out behind her as she quickened her pace, the strap of her material, emerald bag was cutting into her shoulder but she didn't slow down. The once silent grounds were alive with the buzz of conversation as more and more students seemed to arrive every second, Lauren was greatful for this because she wouldn't be very easy to spot in a huge crowd. The silvery, sapphire lake lapped up against the hard, rocky bank as Lauren skirted around the outside of it, her reflection as clear as if she was looking into a mirror. She wasn't exactly sure why she was avioding Rue and Alex, all Lauren knew was that she couldn't face them yet. When she reached a deserted part of the lake, she dumped her bag on the emerald grass, flatening the sharp shards, and sat down, basking in the warm, golden rays from the sun. This part was slightly overgrown, ivory climbed up the small, thin trees, the grass was a bit longer than on the other side and had patches of chocolate grass. Running her fingers through a patch of dead grass, Lauren came back to reality, and it hit her like a slap in the face. She'd nearly told Sirius how she felt! Blood rushed to her cheeks faster than coursing water, Lauren's cheeks were fastly becoming ruby, how could she have let it slip like that? She flopped back on the grass, the smoky, dead patches prickling her back like needles, her aquamarine eyes fixed to the perfect, topaz sky as she tried to focus her mind on something else. Anything else. But no other thoughts came. Grimacing as she remembered, her ruby cheeks became a garnet colour and Lauren hugged her knees to her chest. The cool breeze pressed against her face but her cheeks didn't change, they stayed a light garnet and they felt like flames. Lauren let her thoughts run around her head, what was the point in trying to stop them? It was futile and she knew it. She rested on the wrists and turned her cobolt eyes up towards the topaz sky and felt the citrine sun warming her face, except from her cheeks that couldn't get any hotter, and watched as opal clouds slowly crossed the pure topaz. She sighed. Her eyes darting from the lapping, silvery lake to the blinding, citrine sun, Lauren wondered if Alex or Rue were worried about her, if they wondered where she was or if they knew her well enough to give her space. She went with the latter. The bell chimed once again, it appeared quieter than before, as if by getting lost in her thoughts reality was being pushed further and further away until only whispers of it penetrated her mind. This was stupid, she told herself, all because of some stupid crush. What am I in one of Lily's pathetic muggle movies?! Lauren felt her hands clench up, her cheeks warmed again and her breaths were becoming uneven and shaky, she was infuriated with herself for being this poignant. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force her muscles to move. Lauren had no idea what to do, she was angry at herself for being stupid but, at the same time, the thought of going to class repulsed her, having to listen to teachers droaning on and on sent shivers down her spine. Losing track of time, a freezing wind snapped Lauren back to reality. The sky had turned a satin black and tiny gems were appearing, outshadowed by a pure silver semi-circle that illuminated the whole sky. All the traces of the summer whether had disappeared and left a chilling wind in it's wake, the black lake rippled underneath a silver mist and reflected the night sky perfectly. Rubbing her arms frantically, Lauren rushed back across the moonlight draped grounds, suddenly filled with the desire to be in her comfortable bed. The darkness and eerie silence made her desire fiercer and she hurried her pace, but rushed silently, out of fear of being caught. Reaching the dull, grey stone steps, she acended them and relief flooded through her when the gleeming entrance hall stretched out in front of her aquamarine eyes. Lauren glided silently through the pink marble hall and walked down into the dungeons. They looked like something out of one of Lily's muggle horror films, the shadows danced and taunted her, the little light there was illuminated nothing that wasn't an inch in front of your face and the temperature appeared to be dropping the further she ventured. With nothing but a silver mist draping the narrow, dark corridors, Lauren quickened her pace and nearly let out a cry of relief when she saw the familiar portriate of a knight. Whispering the password, the door swung open and Lauren climbed inside, glad to leave the twisiting, macabre corridors far behind her. Half sprinting to her dorm, Lauren silently yanked open the tall, wooden door and entered, the warmth soaking her. She changed into her pajamas, got ready for bed and climbed underneath the warm, soothing covers. As her eyes fluttered shut, she hoped with everything she had that no one would ask her about her absence. But she knew they would.

"LAUREN WAKE UP!" Alex screeched. Ususal voice. Usual time. Not usual Lauren. Rubbing her eyes, she slid out from under the silky covers. Lauren felt her bad mood making a reappearence as she reluctantly pulled on her school uniform, stuffling yawns every minute. She got ready for school in silence, which in itself wasn't strange for her, but anger was bubbling away in her stomach, gnawing at her body like posion. Lauren wasn't in the mood for lessons, nor for leacturing teachers and she especially wasn't in the mood for her friends, every little thing was getting on her nerves and she knew she could snap any moment but she didn't know where it would be or who it would be at. Sighing, which seemed to have wormed it's way into her daily routine, along with rolling her eyes, Lauren brushed her tangled, smokey topaz hair, pulling out clumps every so often, and felt dread wash through her when she thought about the day ahead of her. Her hair was as flicky as ever, she was in a crap mood, more spots had appeared on her face and she had nothing but boring lessons today. Such fun. Lauren scowled as she packed her books into her emerald, material bag, everything about today was going to be crap. It was just one of those days. Sighing loudly, she slung her bag over her shoulder, the emerald strap cutting into her skin, and strode over to the door. Lauren grabbed the cool, metal handle and flicked. Swinging open the tall, wooden door, Lauren snapped her head back to her friends, her light, curved eyebrows raised impatiently and sighed again. Alex and Rue rushed over to where she was but Lauren had already exited and was half way through the cold, dingy dungeons before they caught up. The dungeons reflected her mood, the ususal coldness and gloomyness didn't effect her but oddly cheered her up slightly. That evaporated the minute she stepped into the gleeming, marble entrance hall, Alex and Rue close behind, and her mood worsened when she entered the brightly lit hall and took her seat at the emerald table. Rolling her eyes, Lauren started filling her plate with food, she probably wasn't going to eat it but the last thing she wanted was questions from her friends. She started stabbing small pieces of food with her smooth, gilded fork out of frustration, Lauren didn't feel like eating at all. Turning her teal eyes away from the sickening sight, they caught someone elses. Not just someone. Lauren was looking into a pair of stormy grey eyes, she brimmed with curiousity and concentration lines appeared on her forehead. He dropped his eyes immediately and his cheeks flashed pink. Her jaw nearly dropped open, had he just blushed? But he never blushed? Lauren thought about this as she pushed her food around the golden plate, food was the last thing on her mind at that moment. Desperate to escape those thoughts, Lauren scoffed down her breakfast, it burnt but she didn't notice, and drained her goblet. Rue and Alex waited for her to finish and the three of them walked to DADA together.

Lauren simply hmmed or ummed at anything Rue or Alex said, not even bothering to listen. As they walked up the marble staircases, Lauren got more and more distant from them, blocking out pratically everything they were saying. By the time they reached the classroom, she couldn't recite anything they'd talked about on the way there and took her place in a worst mood than before. "Good morning, Class," Professor Silas exclaimed, his emerald eyes glancing all over the class,"Today we shall be learning..." But she zoned out completely, professor Silas slowly died away, his emerald eyes fading and his black hair merging with the blackboard behind him. Her thoughts turned to the misty-eyed boy that appeared to be staring at her during breakfast, he couldn't of been looking at her, could he? Lauren felt more confused as her thoughts flitted from his stormy-eyes to his angelic features to his black, silky hair, how his wink made her stomach flutter and how his smirk jumbled up her thoughts, making her brain turn to mush. The wooden desk felt rough as she ran her fingers along the edge, her aquamarine eyes fixed on the empty, metal stool directly in front of her and she pushed her short, silky hair over her shoulders and tried to concentrate. But it didn't work. After catching about two words, Lauren was sucked back out of reality and back into her thoughts, she wondered why he'd been watching her and why he blushed when she caught him. She couldn't understand a thing her teacher was saying, the only thing that stood out was his bright emerald robes with silver swirls climbing up them like ivory climbing up an old house. She was vaguely aware of Rue tapping her on the arm but her voice dwindled to a whisper and her thoughts drowned it out completely. "Miss Colt?" Professor Silas asked. Lauren snapped out of her thoughts, he was looking at her with his piercing green stare and all she could do was blankly stare back. "What's the answer?" She panicked inside, she always knew the answer but, to be honest, she wasn't even sure what topic they were studying. Sighing, she braced herself. "I don't know, sir," She answered truthfully. Almost every head in the class turned to stare at her, Lauren sunk lower in her chair and tried to ignore the gaping faces. A blush rose to her cheeks and she locked eyes with her teacher. "That's most uncharacteristic for you, Miss Colt," she heard one of Malfoy's croonies scoff,"I would ask you to pay more attention next time." He didn't look mad though, he looked more understanding about the whole thing. Pushing his floppy, black hair out of hid dazzling emerald eyes and continued with the lesson. Lauren could still feel stares on her back as she tried to grasp what they were learning about, was it really that shocking that she didn't know the answer? Surely people didn't expect her to know everything? Rue was watching her with her huge, chocolate eyes, they were brimming with worry mixed with curiousity. Sighing, Lauren glared at Malfoy who was staring at her shocked and tried to pay attention to what was being taught. But it was no use. She couldn't concentrate on anything except those cool, grey eyes. The bell was her savior, Lauren jumped up, slung her emerald bag over her shoulder and half sprinted out of the DADA room, not caring whether Rue or Alex were following. Guilt started to wash over her as she realised what a bad friend she'd been to them, Lauren always seemed to take her problems out on them and it wasn't fair. Making a mental note to apologise later, Lauren rushed down to the lunch hall, desperatly hoping Regulus would be there. But he wasn't.

The rest of the day passed in the same way, Lauren difted in and out of lessons, not really listening but catching some parts. Alex and Rue tried to talk to her but she just busied herself with something else, Lauren felt guilty about this but they didn't understand. Since it was friday the lessons weren't too bad, all they did was listen to the teacher talking about something and jot down a few notes, Lauren seemed to forget the 'a few notes' bit and started writing essays by the last periods. Her mood got progressively worse as the day dragged on, people annoyed her, lessons seemed pointless and teachers kept asking if she was alright or saying that she seemed down, which frustrated her even more. Everyone seemed to have something to say about her change of mood, whether it was teachers who were surprised she wasn't her usual 'bubbly self' or if it was Malfoy who said she 'seemed down and he would cheer her up', Lauren didn't even want to think about what that meant as he winked at her straight after. Alex and Rue asked what was wrong with her a couple of times but Lauren just shrugged and mumbled something that she knew they couldn't catch. She couldn't explain it but it was as if she was angry at life for being so cruel to her, everything annoyed her and she couldn't help snapping. Lauren felt bad immediatly afterwards but that didn't improve her mood and she was sure that nothing could. But she hadn't counted on Regulus. She was tapping the rough, wooden table in Transfiguration after having changed a smooth, silver teapot into a hedgehog and had been stuck with nothing to do for the last twenty minutes, her mind had wandered again and since she had finished her work, she decided to sit down and do nothing. Longing for the bell to ring, Lauren drummed the table with her quill impatiently and her aquamarine eyes glazed over in though, resembling blue glass. The seconds ticked away, she started sighing and rolling her eyes, habits she had to get rid of, and her mind wondered what Sirius was doing right now. Probably chatting up some girl, her mind spat making her stomach prang uncomfortably, for once in her life, she hoped that Sirius was planning some childish prank with his fellow marauders. Finally. The bell chimed vibrating the whole classroom, Lauren shoved her things into her material bag and strode out of the classroom, hoping that Regulus was around. "Helloooooooo," A cocky voice came. Lauren spun around, her eyebrows pulled into a frown, and there stood Regulus Black, a smirk planted on his pale face. He was leaning against the marble wall, trying to look effortlessly cool, his elbows were propped up on the glossy window seal, his long legs were streched and crossed over each other. Lauren rolled her eyes. "What are you doing, Regulus?" She asked, eyeing his pose and looking disapprovingly at him. "I'm trying to cheer you up, of course!" Regulus exclaimed, leaning further back on his elbows and grinning stupidly. As much as Lauren tried to stop it, a laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head at her best friend. "You really are a pratt sometimes, you know that?" Lauren asked, laughing, her teal eyes twinkling under the natural light that was flooding the marble corridor. Regulus laughed at this, he stood up from where he was slouched and strode over to her. "Hi I'm Regulus, thought I'd say just in case you didn't know what name to scream tonight." Lauren couldn't help but laugh, it didn't mean anything since he was obviously gay and his smirk made the whole thing a lot more suggestive, not that it wasn't already. "Shut up," she said, hitting him playfully on the arm,"Where's Barty?" Casting her eyes around, she couldn't see the familiar huge-eyed boy anywhere and he always hung around with Regulus. "He's waiting for us in the common room, he loves you and everything but Barty was too tired not to head straight there," Regulus replied, pushing a silky strand of black hair away from his cool, grey eyes and smiling at her. "Come on then," Lauren commented, pointing with her head towards the staircases,"we don't wanna keep him waiting." "Right you are," He replied, heading towards the stairs,"He'll probably be wondering where we've got to anyway." "Probably," she scoffed, following him down the smooth, glossy stairs,"You know how he is." "Anyway, guess what?" Regulus asked as they slipped through the glimmering, marble entrance hall, a smirk planted firmly on his pale, thin lips. Lauren rolled her eyes jokingly and sighed. "What, Regulus?" she asked, waving to Cho who was heading to Ravenclaw tower. "You're spending the whole day with me tomorrow!" He announced, a massive grin stretching across his lips. "What?" Lauren snapped, she had only been a couple of times,"When did you decided this?" She perfered to go to the library or to study than hang out with friends, it was the way it had been since second year. "Listen, I know that you don't like going but you've been really gloomy lately and it's killing me. I really want the old bubbly, hyper Lauren back and I think hanging out is exactly what'll bring her back," Regulus admitted as they climbed into the common room, Barty was sitting on the emerald, fluffy rug staring into the fire, his huge, chocolate eyes glassy. "I'm not gloomy!" Lauren lied,"I'm just tired." "Yeah, of course you are," Regulus replied sarcastically, joining his boyfriend on the olivine rug. "I am!" she lied, flopping down by the crackling fire and immediately feeling the warmth engulf her cold, pale face. "You are what?" Barty asked, ruffling his already tousled, tawny hair and smiling at her. "Lauren is trying to convince me that she's just tired and that's why she's been gloomy lately," He told Barty, rolling his eyes. In reply, Barty scoffed and shook his head slightly. "Just tell us what's bothering you," He laughed, his huge eyes pulling Lauren into the velvety, browness. "Nothing! I keep telling you guys-" Lauren sighed, throwing her arms up in the air. "Look, neither me or Barty believe that, so just tell us what's wrong!" Regulus exclaimed, smiling. "I, I really don't know. I just keep seeing things and when I think them over, they make no sense!" She replied, lines appearing on her forehead. Silence fell upon the trio as they thought about what she'd said. "Am I the only one that has no idea what she's talking about?" Regulus asked, frowning. "No, I don't know either," Barty sighed, looking from Regulus to Lauren. "It's really confusing me and I, I have no idea what to do!" Lauren exclaimed,"I can barely complete my school work, I can't even hold up a conversation anymore, I'm getting angry at everyone for no reason, I haven't spoken to Alex or Rue in merlin knows how long and I'm just in a frickin bad mood all the effing time!" She groaned, holding her head with her hands. Barty and Regulus exchanged a worried glance, Lauren had never acted like this before; she was always hyper and full of life. "I'm sure it's just a phase, it'll pass," Barty told her, a knowing smile playing on his rose lips. "Yeah and anyway I know how we can cheer you up," Regulus beamed, his eyes misting over.  
"How?" She sighed, not in the mood for one of Regulus' 'great ideas' that would get them all in trouble. "Hanging out me me of course!" Lauren sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're not still going on about me coming with you tomorrow, are you?" Lauren asked, looking gloomier than ever. "Yes! You're going with me and that's that," Regulus told her, nodding curtly. "And while you two are having the time of your lives," Barty rolled his eyes,"I'll be here, probably reading, and greatful for the quiet," "Awh, Bart, you'll miss me," Regulus said, fluttering his eyelashes. Lauren gagged and laughed quietly to herself. "Okay, whatever you say, Reg," He replied, casting Lauren a exasperated look and smirking. "Please flirt some where else, I might throw up," She commented cynically but smiling as well. "You're just jealous," Regulus replied, sticking his tongue out at her. "Yeah, that's it," Lauren replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Regulus. Barty laughed lightly, glancing around the dark, cold common room. "Anyway, I heard that Amos was going to ask you to study with him tomorrow at dinner," Barty told her,"Apparently he really likes you." He winked at her and smiled arrogantly. "Where did you hear that?" she asked sharply, ignoring his attempts at humour. "Just around," He answered vaguely, smiling as he knew she would want to know more. "Barty!" Lauren snapped, narrowing her aquamarine eyes and glowering. "Alright, alright," he held his hands up,"I heard it in the boys toilets," Barty told her, smiling slightly. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't," she shrugged, returning the smile. "Exactly because we're going together," Regulus announced, beaming. Lauren rolled her eyes but had to succumb to the smile that was tugging at her lips.  
"I just don't know how to contain my excitement," Lauren said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
"Anyway, we should probably go to dinner," Barty suggested, standing up. "Great! I'm starving!" Lauren complained, rubbing her stomach. "There's a change," Regulus, Barty and Lauren crossed the dark, eerie common room, walked through the cold, dingy dungeons and entered the great hall, the smells of the delicious foods wafting out.

CHAPTER 41: PEOPLE SHOULD'VE KNOWN BY NOW THAT SECRETS DIDN'T STAY SECRET AT HOGWARTS

Lauren took her seat at the emerald table, not even glancing to the ruby one, she didn't care. Or so she told herself. She started piling foods onto her plate, it had become a ritual now rather than something she did out of hunger. Lauren could feel her teal eyes lifting and no matter what she did, they wouldn't stay on her food. Automatically they settled on the table draped in rich ruby, and on the one person she knew they would, the only person they could. Sirius. Him and James were messing around, James was stabbing him with his smooth, reflective fork and Sirius was fighting him off with his gilded knife. Remus was reading a leather bound book and Peter was staring off into space, that was typical for them. A smile crept up on her thin, pale lips as she lowered her eyes back to her food, that was how they use to be, how they were and how they always would be. Reluctantly, she began eating her dinner, flitting her aquamarine eyes up every so often. "Hellooooooo," a voice came. Lauren swiveled left on her chair to meet a boy with floppy, flaxen hair and merged, green eyes, they were a mixture of brown, blue and green to form a dark green colour with flecks of chocolate and sky blue. He had scooted up to where Regulus would normally sit and had a cocky smile placed on his pale face. "Er, hey," She replied, shrugging her shoulders slightly. His eyes were like nothing she'd ever seen before, they were bright but dark. "I'm Riley," He told her, smiling warmly. Laure just assumed he was one of Regulus' friends. "Lauren," Lauren replied, nodding her head curtly. Glancing sideways, she caught a pair of cool, grey eyes watching her, his angelic, carved features contorted into a scowl. "Well, Lauren, I was wondering if you were doing anything tomorrow?" The boys asked, his eyes glinting mischeviously. She opened her mouth to speak but a voice cut her off. "She is Riley, so fuck off and go back to your own seat," Regulus said, his voice full of humour. The boy called Riley pouted, stuck his tongue out and slid along the smooth, wooden bench back to his own seat. He took his seat next to her and started to pile foods onto his plate just as she had done. The gold cutlery glinted underneath the artificial sky, sending beams of gold in every direction. "Sorry about him," Regulus commented, stuffing mash potato into his mouth. But Lauren wasn't thinking about Riley, she'd caught Sirius watching her and scowling, what was he scowling at? Her? Riley? Them together? She let these questions fly around her brain and, as usual, she had no answer but they didn't stop. "Er, earth to Lauren!" "Huh?" she asked, her aquamarine eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted. "Don't worry," he sighed, a smile pulling at his pale lips,"It's not that important,"  
"Are you sure?" Lauren asked, twirling the smooth, gold fork inbetween her fingers, her eyes resting exactly where she didn't want them to. They kept doing that, like it was automatic that they would lay on the last person she wanted them to. "And you've gone again!" Regulus sighed, tucking into his steaming dinner. Her mind went back to why he was scowling at them, what did he have to be angry about? He dates half the girls in his year and that's fine but as soon as she starts talking to boys that's not? Lauren sighed, that was really hypocritical of him. Plus, they weren't really flirting, well, he was but she wasn't. What was Sirius' problem? She snapped out of her thoughts to hear the most disturbing thing she'd ever heard. "I'm in love with Severus Snape, I want his little greasy haired babies. I want to stroke his greasy hair and feel the oils," "WHAT?!" Lauren nearly spat out the food she was eating, she started coughing uncontrolably and, only after she'd drained nearly four goblets, she could breath. "Hey! You're back again!" He exclaimed, smiling. She pulled her thin, fair eyebrows together and tilted her head slightly. "I, er, I never left?" She phrased it like a question, still getting over Regulus' strange statement. "You were lost in your thoughts, I-"  
"You said you wanted Snape's babies!" Regulus laughed, his stormy eyes misting over. "I was trying to snap you out of your thoughts, you've been really distant lately." "I know, I just," she sighed,"I have way too much on my mind and I think it's slowly driving me insane," Lauren told him, her mouth stretched into a thin line and her teal eyes unnaturally dull and lifeless. That shocked Regulus more than anything. "Tell me about it," He instructed her, smiling slightly. "It doesn't matter," Regulus send her a questioning look,"Really. It doesn't." "But if it's effecting you than it matters to me." He argued. "And Barty!" Regulus added, smiling. "It's, it's not effecting me per say, it just matters to me," Lauren told them. wishing that they'd just drop the subject. "Seriously?! You've been acting completely different lately!" Barty exclaimed. "Anyway, what are we actually gonna do tomorrow?" Regulus shrugged,"Anything really." "Well, I was going to go to the library and-"  
"Woah, woah, woah, woah! I have and will never go into that place. Ever."  
"Fine. Whatever. I'm going to bed." Lauren mumbled, stood up and strode out of the hall, not glancing at her two stunned friends. She had felt the same cool, grey stare on her again but this time she wasn't going to sit there and let him consume her thoughts. Rushing into her dorm room, she nearly bumped into Alex and Rue, who were heading for dinner. "Hey," Alex greeted, not sounding annoyed or mad. "Ineedtotalktoyouguys!" Laure burst upon seeing them. "Oh, okay. About what?" Rue asked, twirling a curl around her finger. "I'm really sorry for how I've been acting! I know I've been a bitch to you guys and been really moody and I'm so sorry. It's just there's something I need to sort out and I can't share it with anyone." "Yes, you have," Alex told her, frowning,"but we forgive you." Lauren exhaled loudly. "Thank you!" "We'll see you after dinner!" Rue commented, scooting out of the door, behind Alex. "Yeah, see you," Lauren whispered even though they were gone. Climbing into bed, she rested her throbbing head and fell into a deep sleep.

Lauren eyes fluttered open and were met with a dorm draped in crimson light that danced around in circles and refracted off all the four walls. Her room mates were all still fast asleep, gentil breathing and small snores ringing around the small room, the emerald curtains still drawn, blocking out the strong light and muffling the noises. Guessing it was about six, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her tired eyes, casting her head around for any sign of the others waking. When silence fell again, Lauren slipped out of her bed, trying to make as little sound as possible, and tip toed across to her wooden chest of draws. She slid the draws out, again being silent, and grabbed her best pair of navy, skinny jeans and one of the designer tops her mum must've snuck into her case. This one was actually really nice, it was a deep navy and had a lace material with a swirling pattern around the collar bone and cutting across the chest, it was as though someone had cut a pannel of the navy material out and replaced it with the lace. The three-quater length sleeves cut just below her elbow. Slipping the clothes on, the expensive jean felt rough against her legs, Lauren brushed her hair back into a high ponytail and grabbed her soft, nevy hoodie from where it had been chucked. She then crossed the dorm room, making her breaths shallow and silent, and edged open the tall, wooden door. Slipping through the small crack, Lauren darted out into the smooth, glossy corridor and sped along it, twisting her head reguarly to check whether anyone was around. Pulling desperatly at her top, it was cut on her jean line and was edging up with every step she took, Lauren bounded into the dark common room, feeling the change of atmosphere instantly. She pulled on her hoodie and pulled it across herself, even though the fire was crackling anf blazing as always, the room was still way below zero degrees. Weaving in and out of the plush, emerald sofas and chairs that were dotted around the eerie room, Lauren reached the portraite hole without seeing anyone. That in itself was strange, although it was early and a saturday people were always walking around, granted they were always sixth years but this was really weird. Something wasn't right. Lauren opened the door and climbed out into the freezing dungeons, concentrating on where everyone was and not what could be lurking in the shadows. Ever since she was small she'd been scared of the dark and it hadn't worn off, only Regulus knew that she still was. Hurrying through the twisting, macabre dungeons, she reached the short flight of stairs that led up into the bright, marble entrance hall and ascended, not looking back. She thought she'd just pop her head in the great hall and check whether people were up, improbable but not impossible, and then head to the library and wait for everyone to wake up. Gliding across the marble floor, Lauren reached the tall, worn doors and cast her teal eyes inside. Two students, including the boy with ice blue eyes and ice blond hair who she'd seen at the start of the year and some guy with dirty blond hair, that was ruffled, and warm, blue eyes that were outlined by impossibly long, blond eyelashes, were sitting at the Slytherin table. Amos was sitting in his usual group of friends at the Hufflepuff table, they weren't really eating just having small, seperated conversations. At the Gryffindor table, a tall, lean guy with jet black hair and blue eyes was sitting with her brother and a small cluster of girls were sitting at the table, the low hum of conversation was apparent but not loud enough to be noticeable if you didn't listen very carefully. The Ravenclaw table was the most full, Cho and her group of friends were sitting there, Dean, Alex and Edward were also and two sixth year girls, one had long, chocolate curly hair that hung down to her ribs, she was reading a book and munching on toast, the other was scribbling something down, she had ruler straight strawberry blond hair that fell onto her shoulders and a heavy sidefring that swept across her forehead, she kept pushing it back but it would fall straight into her deep blue eyes. Sighing, Lauren glanced again and the emerald table and something caught her eye. Why would he be up at this hour? Clenching her fists, she strode over to the Slytherin table, smiling warmly at Amos on the way, and took her seat, still confused at what she had seen. Lauren didn't touch any food or drink, she didn't want to, all she wanted to do was work out why he was awake and walking around this early. "Morning, Colt," His voice came, you could hear the smirk in his deep voice and his voice was as cocky as it always was when he spoke to her. She didn't even need to turn around, Lauren already knew that he'd be wearing his signiture smirk and his stormy eyes would be glinting with arrogance. She knew his gelled, platinum hair would be as perfect as it always was and it was impossible for him to go anywhere without his idiot croonies, who couldn't make one brain cell if they both contributed. Or even half of one. Lauren couldn't possible comprehend why anyone would want people like that for friends, they were basically his thugs, to protect him physically when he'd gotten himself into a stupid situation, which was often, but, as much as Lauren hated to admit it, Malfoy was very good at magic. "What do you want, Malfoy?" She spat the name, as she always did. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone? He'd embarssed her enough, he'd had his 'victory', why was he still hanging around her? Clearly bullying the younger students wasn't enough for him, he'd now taken to pestering her and picking fights, for no reason, with the older students. Lauren often wondered what he got out of all this? She bet he wouldn't risk it without Crabbe and Gole to protect him. Malfoy cocked his head to the right, his angular jaw pointing towards the enchanted ceiling, and Lauren heard Grabbe and Gole leave. What was going on today? Malfoy slid onto the smooth, wooden bench next to her, turning completely towards her. While Lauren kept her eyes fixed on the plates of food in front of her. "So, Colt, I was wondering why you kept it a secret." Lauren looked at him confused but he carried on,"Not even telling Sirius about his own brother, I was just wondering whether your friendship can survive that. I know that you're best friends but I don't think he's gonna take the fact that Regulus is gay and dating Barty lightly, add the fact that you didn't tell him and," he cocked an eyebrow,"How do you think it's gonna go?" His smooth voice drawled out the last letter of every word, making it pure agony to listen to. Lauren tried to hide the shock that crossed her face, she had no idea how he knew but she knew that all hell would break loose the minute he told anyone, asuming he hadn't already told half the school. And now his motive was clear. She tried to smooth her face out, to make it emotionless but Lauren knew it was already too late. Malfoy knew he was right and his winning smirk stretched wide across his pale face and reached his cool, grey eyes that seemed to be smirking all on thier own. She felt conflicted. He already knew; she wasn't breaking her promise but it didn't feel like that, it felt like betrayal. Sighing, she set her face into a scowl. "I don't know what you're talking about," Lauren lied. She'd heard the break in her voice but was desperatly hoping he hadn't, she'd always been quite bad at lying, especially under pressure, and now was one of the worst situations she could be in and have to lie. It was like when you tried to talk after you'd been crying, it would suddenly break in the middle of the sentence or like when a teeange boys voice is breaking. But Lauren clutched onto the straws of hope that she had left, if he wouldn't believe her, which he wouldn't because it was so obvious she was lying, than maybe he'd ask for something in exchange for not telling anyone. But that made it worse. What would he ask for? Lauren dreaded to think about it and pushed it to the back of her mind. "Oh, I think you do," He stroke his hand over his gelled, white blond hair, his grey eyes glinting cruelly,"You see, I know you more than you think. I know that you would do pretty much anything for a for a friend and I know that you keep a lot of secrets." His eyes flared,"I know that I'm right and that you kept it secret for them but how much longer was that planning to go on? And," he leaned closer,"how much is it going to destroy your relationship with Sirius?" Lauren knew she shouldn't but that question played on her mind, she hadn't really considered what she was doing, she just knew that she had to because they were her best friends and they would do the same for her. She didn't blame them exactly but she felt a resentment towards them, she felt guilty about it but Lauren couldn't help it, if Sirius was annoyed at her, and he would be, than she couldn't help but blame them. Unintentionally, she leaned back, uncomfortable with how close her was sitting, she hated herself for doing it because that's exactly what he wanted but she didn't want to be in the same room as him, let alone have him only a couple of inches away from her. "I don't," her voice quivered slightly and she hated herself for it. Lauren cleared her throat,"How do you expect me to know how Sirius is gonna react?" Her voice snapped slightly, she let a small smile cross her lips but it disappeared quickly. Lauren glanced around the hall, it was still basically empty and she wished that her friends would arrive. It was something about having Malfoy sitting next to her that intimidated her, she wasn't scared because he wasn't particuarly scary but he was so cool, dangerously calm and that made him more deadly than ever. It wasn't like they were having a conversation about a massive secret that was about to be exposed but, from the way Malfoy was speaking and acting, it seemed like they were talking about something as casual as what their favourite colours were. "I guess you'll find out, hmm," he pretended to think even though it was clear that he'd already planned this whole thing,", I should think around lunch time. You see, it all depends on how fast Crabbe and Gole spread the gossip and on how many people actually believe them, I doubt anyone expected them two." his eyes flared again,"That's what I love about school, rumours spread very fast, don't you think?" Lauren knew that she had to do something, she knew she couldn't just sit here and wait for the news to spread but she had no idea where they were or what the plan was. She felt completely useless. Barty and Regulus specifically didn't want anyone knowing because of what would be said, obviously some people had a problem with gay couples but most people would accept them. However, people like Malfoy would give them abuse until they either broke up or ended up crying and breaking up anyway. Everything was about to fall apart and all she could do was sit there. "Ah, here comes Crabbe and Gole!" Malfoy teased, his eyes falling on his two croonies. Suddenly his stormy eyes lit up and it looked like Christmas had come early for him."And here comes the big brother." This sentence made Lauren snap her head towards the entrance, her teal eyes widened as the four boys took their seats and a group of gossiping girls surronded the whole table, telling the story with hand actions and hungry eyes. Lauren couldn't wait to see what Sirius' reaction was gonna be, well she could but she didn't want to, with Malfoy distracted with how well his plan was coming together, she jumped up. Lauren sprinted as fast as she could out of the great hall but not before she'd seen an accusing and shocked pair of cool, grey eyes fall upon her and for one second their eyes locked. The hurt that was emitting from Sirius had engulfed her and guilt washed over her like a huge, crashing wave, making worry lines appear of her forehead and causing her to break the contact. Shaking her head, she spun around and sprinted into the marble entrance hall but the guilt was following her like a lost puppy. And her eyes stung.

Lauren burst into the cold, dark entrance hall, her eyes still stinging and her breaths coming as huge gasps. She bent over and clutched at a stitch that was forming in her side, gulping down whatever air she could get into her lungs. The news had obviously hit here because groups of students were sat around gossiping and she defentely heard Barty and Regulus's names as she pushed past the staring students. Her cheeks heated up as more and more students turned her way and looked at her with the same shocked eyes that he had. He who now hated her. Shaking her head once more, Lauren pushed past the last few people, took in a few last deep breaths, and sprinted up the marble stairs leading to the boys dorms. A few questioning looks were sent her way but she was almost oblivious to them as she snapped her head left and right looking for the right door. Finding the tall, wooden door with a brass plaque that said 'Slytherin 3rd Years, Lauren sped up and rushed over to the door. For a minute she stood in front of the imposing, oak door, dancing on the balls of her feet. She couldn't just barge in, so she'd have to knock, right? Lifting a clenched, pale fist to the door, she knocked and the booms rang around the hallway, making boys turn to stare. Hopping from the balls of her feet, she started tapping the sides of her legs and letting out short, impatient breaths. Lauren had even started muttering 'come on, come on, come on,' repeatedly under her breath. Honestly, what did boys do in their dorms. As soon as that question passed through her mind, she realised she probably wouldn't want to know and took to bending one leg and knocking again and again, not caring that she was probably waking everyone up with the booms, and not stopping, even when her knuckles started to turn pink and pains shot through her hand. A thump emitted from inside and moments later the thick, wooden door swung open, her knuckles were now crimson and Lauren pulled her hoodie sleve over the reddend skin. A very tired and grumpy Riley stood in front of her, his flaxen hair sticking up in every direction and his merged, green eyes misted with sleep. Lauren couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked but she shook her head and dismissed the thought. And then her cheeks turned the colour of her sore knuckle. He was standing there in nothing but his pants. "What?" He asked, his voice thick with sleep. A smile pulled at her lips as she averted her aquamarine eyes to anywhere but him and she stroked her ponytail awkardly, waiting for him to notice that he wasn't wearing much. "Is Regulus here?" Lauren asked, an impatient tone to her voice. She decided that she didn't care that he was half naked, more than half to be honest, and realised that there were definetly more important things. Lauren didn't wait for an answer but instead slipped into the gap between Riley and the door frame and entered the room. Their dorm looked pretty much the same as hers except that odd socks and pants littered the floor, a horrible strench was seeping through from their bathroom and the room didn't smell too fresh either. She knew boys sweated more than girls but sheesh! Sighing, Lauren stode over to the small, clear window and cracked it open, greatful for the cold but fresh air that swept in. Casting her teal eyes around, Lauren saw that everyone was still asleep except from Riley, she must've woken him up. Riley sulked back into the room, rubbing his eyes, and flopped back onto his bed, which suited her fine, she only wanted to talk to Regulus. She identified his bed immediatly because he was closest to the window and the cool breeze had drifted in and stirred him. Lauren walked over to his bed, trying to ignore the smell that was sweat mingled with something that smelt like vanillia, the vanillia definetly didn't improve it, and tried to shake him awake. He groaned lightly but turned over and continued to sleep. A loud, low snoring was filling the room, at that point Lauren felt especially greatful she wasn't a boy. After a few futile attemps to rouse Regulus, she went for the drastic and prayed that he didn't sleep naked, or this could get very awkward, very fast. Grabbing the prestine, white douvet, that was tinged an ugly yellow colour and had stains from things she didn't want to know on, and pulled it off. And spun around. "What? What do you want?" Regulus groaned, trying to grab the covers again. He rubbed his eyes that were misted with sleep and flattened his silky, ebony hair against his head. He shivered against the breeze that was drifitng in from the open window and muttered a swear word that Lauren didn't want to be called ever again. Gritting her teeth, Lauren turned back around and felt her cheeks heat up. At least he wore pants. But she'd never realised how muscly Regulus was, of course he had to be reasonably fit for Quidditch but she didn't expect him to have really big muscles, especially on his legs and his skin was the perfect balance of tanned and pale. "Regulus! For merlin's sake! Get up!" Lauren shouted, pulling his arm and trying to get him out of bed. Although she was strong, he was stronger and as she pulled, her lost the battle and fell straight onto her bum. Wincing in pain, Lauren hoped that she wasn't thumping too loud, because at this rate it wouldn't be just the third year dorm she'd woken up, it would be everyone, and resulted to hitting him with anything and everything she could find. He was still verging on sleep though. There was nothing for it. Lauren crossed the dorm, careful not to slip on the garments that were thrown on the floor, and burst into the bathroom. Grabbing a clear, glass cup, she filled it up with stone cold water and stalked back into the room, feeling annoyed and agitated but sort of greatful that he could get a few last peaceful minutes before confronting literallty the whole school. Rubbing her bum where she'd fallen, Lauren tipped the glass over his head. Regulus sat up immediately, a little too fast, and he went tumbling to the ground. And landed with a thump.  
"Shhh!" Lauren hissed, placing the empty glass on the side and crouching down beside him,"You're gonna wake everyone up! Pratt!" Regulus was sat crossed-legged on the carpet, rubbing his head where he'd hit it and scowling at her. A couple of the other boys had woken up and were grumbling insults and swear words. Small droplets of water were dripping off of Regulus' hair and face and were staining the carpet, tinging the cream almost brown. Riley mumbled something really offensive and Lauren felt her cheeks heat up again, for the third time today, she hadn't imagined anything like that coming from him. Regulus was finally awake, he noticed the way that Lauren was glancing over to Riley and his anger ebbed away, like peeling paint. "Riley! Shut up!" He growled, rubbing his head and getting up, very slowly. Lauren stood up, ironed out her clothes against her restless body and perched on his bed, that smelt just like the rest of the room. They must sweat buckets! Regulus collapsed onto his bed as well, sitting with his knees pulled into his chest, it was a strange sight and make him appear smaller, more child like. "Regulus I'm sorry for waking you up but this is urgent!" Lauren hissed, her voice coming out very fast and all in one breath. "What could be that important?" Regulus grumbled, scowling at the other boys in his dorm who were still mumbling insults and swear words, some Lauren had only heard when Nick got really angry and he was immediatly shouted at by her mother, she hadn't expected to hear them from thirteen year old boys. "Malfoy knows Regulus! He knows about you and Barty and the whole school must know by now and I tried to stop him but I didn't know how and I thought that I should come straight here and tell you and I'm sorry and the whole of Slytherin and Gryffindor know and I'm not sure whether the Hufflepuffs know, I'm asuming they do, and the Ravenclaw's probably don't care, too busy studying or something, and I'm really confused on what to do and I don't know and it's all Malfoy's fault and I'm really sorry!" Lauren breathed, sun conciously figiting on the spot, her aquamarine eyes darting around the room. Her voice got gradually louder and louder through and by the end she was hysterical. Her legs didn't want to sit down anymore, if she was sitting than she wasn't doing anything productive, or that's how she viewed it anyway, so she jumped up. Regulus just sat there completely stunned, he was shocked by both the news and how Lauren was acting, she was mostly calm and serine but something had clicked inside of her and she'd gone into panic mode. "Wake Barty up and tell him," But Lauren didn't need to wake anyone up because the whole of the dorm was awake now, she was secretly amazed it had taken them this long, and Barty was now watching their encounter, his huge, chocolate eyes flitted with worry. She rushed over to him, unable to make herself sit down, and she found that she couldn't force the words out. Lauren just looked back at Regulus, her eyes wide and blinking to rapidly, it made her look like a rabbit running from it's prey, and her expression mirrored exactly how he felt. "What's wrong with you two?" Barty asked, his voice thick and tired. But all humour evaporated when he saw their expressions, desperate and empathetic. Rubbing his eyes, he slipped out from the thick, yellowed douvet, he too only slept in boxers but Lauren didn't care anymore, and Barty crossed the room to where Regulus was, pulling a wordless Lauren by the hand. "Malfoy's told everyone, Barty," Regulus told him, his voice sorrowful and oddly quiet,"About us and now everyone knows." His expression now mirrored both Lauren's and his boyfriends, his huge, chocolate eyes swum with nothing but shock and they kept darting to Lauren who was apparently too tranfixed with this news to do anything. This was bad news. If Lauren wasn't thinking rationally anymore than every last shard of hope was lost. "Lauren?" He asked, his voice gentil and kind. Her cobolt eyes turned to him, they twinkled in the citrine, morning sun and looked completely empty. Even when they were full of fury, it was a better sight than this, they were lifeless and hopeless. And that's how the three of them felt. Hopeless. Everyone knew now. Nothing could be done. "What's going on?" Riley asked, rubbing his merged, green eyes. His voice sounded a lot more clearer now and it had the quality of a bell, ringing around the whole room that had fallen silent with either shock, obviously the three friends, or sleep, which was basically everyone else in the dorm. Barty turned towards his half naked friend, more than half, and said in the calmest, softest voice Lauren had ever heard,"Everyone knows about me and Regulus." At these words, Riley bolted up and every whisper of sleep left his body, which was more revealed than Lauren felt comfortable with, and his face, leaving his greeny-brown eyes alert and awake. "And Sirius knows." The voice was so quiet, so soft that Regulus had to double check with Barty that it had come from the person he thought, Lauren never spoke like that. She was always the loudest, always the one that was never afraid to let people hear what she thought, always the one that was the most opinnionated. "So what do we do?" Riley asked. Lauren turned to him, shocked to see that he still hadn't noticed he was half naked, more than half, his was kinda muscly too. Shaking her head slightly, she rolled her eyes and looked slightly like the old Lauren, the one who was always sarcastic and wasn't afraid to let anyone hear what she thought. "There's nothing to do," Barty told his friend,"By now everyone knows and we're be fools to think otherwise. Malfoy and his croonies would've have told every student from tiny first years to huge seventh years and we're just going to have to deal with it." It amazed Lauren how cool and collected he could be, how rational he was thinking. Riley didn't look very happy with that answer, his face fell slightly and you could see the empathy blazing in his fuzzy, green eyes. Finding her voice at last, Lauren pitched in. "Or," the three boys turned to look at her, Riley's cheeks were bright red, he'd seemed to forgotten she was there,"we could make Malfoy pay." Before they could stop her, Lauren was sprinting out of their dorm, a vague plan forming in her mind. Three words buzzing around her head like a swarm of angry bees. Make. Malfoy. Pay.

CHAPTER 42: A PUNCH

Lauren sprinted back through the corridors of the Slytherin boys dorms, earning some very curious looks as she ran and didn't look back, didn't look back at the three stunned boys, nor looking back at the boys who were whispering frantically. She definetly heared Regulus and Barty's names. Ignoring the comments that greeted her, Lauren sprinted down the slippery, marble steps, almost tripping over her own feet and barely missing a group of small, first year boys who were making their way up them, and burst into the common room. Met with more stares, she searched around for that stupid, smirking boy and his stupid platinum hair and his stupid friends but upon not finding them, she ran towards the exit. Lauren clenched her fists, her breaths were ragged but not from running and her stomach felt like someone had set it alight, she couldn't remember being this angry. Ever. Swinging open the door, Lauren climbed out, met with more stares and whispers, it probably didn't help that she was running around like there was a fire, scowled and continued sprinting. Amazingly, she didn't even care that the fridges in the kitchens were warmer than the dungeons, and they looked a lot more inviting, instead, she kept up the fast pace. After a couple of minutes, when she burst into the entrance hall, nearly slaming into a group of reading Ravenclaw's, and after she'd called out apologises non stop to everyone, her chest was aching and Lauren couldn't get enough breath into her lungs. But she didn't stop. The grand hall was empty, the tables looked oddly eerie with no one gathered around them and the silence was deafning, so that meant that he could either be at the library, very unlikely, or the grounds. Grounds. Lauren's legs were complaining with pain and her chest was deepening worringly but she sprinted out through the tall, ancient wooden doors. "Miss Colt! Please slow down!" Professor MaGonagal screeched, Lauren could imagine her furious face with her bushy brows pulled knitted together and her mouth stretched into a barely-there line. "Sorry, Professor!" She called over her shoulder, it hurt her chest almost unbareably but she didn't want to end up in detention. But she didn't slow. Lauren ran down the dull, grey steps and sprinted out onto the lush, olivine grass with the strong, citrine sun beating down on her back, she secretly worried that she'd end up smelling like Regulus' dorm. The sound of the silvery, rippling lake lapping up against the sides filled her ears as she glanced up at the pure topaz sky with small, fluffy clouds floating around. Then she spotted him. Laughing and joking with his 'friends' by the silver lake, right next to him were the people she didn't want to see, we'll the person. Sirius. Again, the feeling of not caring fell upon her and she slowed her pace. As she strode across the grounds, a scowl set in place, people frantically shot questions at her, was it true? Were they really going out? Were her two best friends gay? Lauren blocked out the voices, her eyes set on the platinum haired boy that she felt pure hatred for. No plan. No weapons. Nothing but hatred. But that was all she needed. Feeling her back getting dangerously warm and feeling the hot, citrine sun draping her face, she strode over to Malfoy and his group, not entirely sure what she was going to do. But a plan had formed. Her brain just hadn't been told. Reason couldn't kick in. She was working on inpulse. And that was a very dangerous thing. "Ah, didn't I tell you rumours spread quickly?" Malfoy asked, a smirk stretched right across his pale face. His cool, grey eyes full of amusement and enjoyment. That made her anger bubble. Lauren saw Sirius turn his gaze to her and theirs met, briefly, before she felt guilt consume her and forced herself to look away. "You really are foul, d'you know that?" Lauren spat when she was right infront of him, her fierce scowl directed at him and only him. "D'you know that's exactly what your other pathetic little friend said? What's her name?" he waved a pale hand in the air,"Doesn't matter. You always seem to pick pathetic people, I credited you for more than that." The boys around him sniggered and mumered in agreement, Malfoy smirked at her as she edged closer. "Don't call my friends pathetic." Lauren's voice was fierce and angry and it was filled with nothing but rage. Her cheeks felt hot but her stomach felt like an oven, her hands were sweaty and sore and pains jabbed them as she attempted to uncurl her fists. "Well, let's see, we have the slut," he counted on one of his fingers,"the two faggots," he tapped three fingers teasingly,"the stupid ones," he pointed vaguely in the marauders direction,"and the pitiful excuse for a Slytherin. So yeah," his eyes flared,"they are pathetic." something snapped inside Lauren. "You're right about one thing though, Malfoy." "Yeah, and what would that be?" Malfoy fluttered his long, blond eyelashes and smirked at her. "I would do anything for my friends." Heavy breaths. Scowls. Smirks. Twinkling teal. Cool grey. Pale skin. A smirk. A scowl. Impluse. A fist. A sickening crunch. A stumble. A sigh. Lauren had punched Malfoy. Actually punched him. Purely on impluse. But as she watched his pathetic excuse for a boy fall back, she felt glad. Happy. A smile. Blood was pouring out of his nose like a crimson waterfall. A smile. Gasps. Stares. A glare. Lauren breathed out, heavily, shook her fist once and examined it. Perfect. No blood, no marks, not even a scrape. And she strode back across the olivine grass, a few students had seen what she'd done but not many. The marauders had, as they were closest, but many just saw Malfoy fall back onto the lush, emerald grass with a bloody nose and a shocked expression. And Lauren striding away. The citirine sun bore down on her as she walked back across the grounds, the smile still in place and adreneline pumping through her. No remorse. No regret. Nothing. But a happy feeling. The sound of the rippling lake run around her ears, she had never felt that angry before but he'd hurt her friends and that was definetly not okay with her. She didn't even bother to turn back around. There was a crunch that sounded like a bone being broken but somewhere, deep inside, she secretly hoped that she had broken his nose, it would serve him right. But just then a thought hit her. The teachers probably wouldn't feel the same way. Sighing, Lauren climbed up the grey, stone steps and jogged into the entrance hall, the last rays of the citrine sun touching her back. But something hadn't changed. The smile.

The common room was barely occupied, Lauren guessed that everyone was outisde, enjoying the weather that was warm for once. The few stares and whispers that met her arrival didn't bother her anymore, infact she found that the smile she'd got from punching Malfoy was still planted firmly on her face, no sign of it fading or even decreasing. The marble stairs made her legs ache even more, since she'd sprinted pratically the whole way, and her forehead was slightly damp with sweat. When she reached the corridor, she found that the marble was so smooth she could just drag her legs along it, and the pain disappeared almost instantly. The thick, wooden door to Regulus' dorm was tightly shut and Lauren guessed she would have to knock again. Sighing, she raised a pale hand to the door and knocked three times, the knocks echoed like gun shots around the marble corridor and a few quizzing looks were sent her way but no comments were made, for which she felt greatful. Almost instantly the huge, imposing door swung open and a frantic looking Regulus answered it. Before Lauren could register what was going on, she was pulled into a gut wrenching hug and foung herself gasping for air, Regulus' shiny, black hair tickled her chin as she raised on her tip-toes and fitted her head into his right shoulder. She could smell vanilia drifting from his body, that was now dressed in fitting black jeans and a plain, fitted white top, Lauren felt slightly guilty as she realised how sticky she was from her little sprint. Eventually, Regulus released her and pulled her into the dorm, by the hand. She couldn't see what the big rush was, the same smell of sweat and vanilia filled her nostrils as she entered the dormitory for the second time, someone had picked up the dirty pants off of the floor but the odd sock still littered the floor and mixed the smell of cheese with the sweat and vanilia. In short, Lauren found it very difficult to control her gag reflex. Thankfully, Riley had opted for the clothed look, wearing baggy, navy jeans and a designer top, though she had no idea which designer it was, his flaxen hair had been brushed and was now its usual slightly ruffled instead of birds nest and his green eyes still had their murky quality but were not misted with sleep anymore. Barty had gotten dressed too, his navy jeans clung to his legs and he wore a simple, fitted white shirt, that showed off his toned stomach. "Lauren! Where did you go?!" Barty exclaimed, his chocolate eyes flooding with relief. He ruffled his brown hair and sat down on his bed, taking another sigh of relief, though how anyone could breath in here was beyond Lauren. Her cheeks tinged pink as she remembered what she'd done, it seemed perfectly logical when she had adreneline coursing through her but now that those effects and worn off, she was met with the stone cold truth. Sighing herself, Lauren rubbed her forehead and shrugged her shoulders to relax herself. "I'll only tell you guys if you promise not to be mad," She told them, not meeting their gazes or the ones of the other boys who were weaving around the four of them, getting dressed, brushing teeth and combing hair. And people say that girls take ages. "Lauren, what did you do?" Regulus asked, he knew exactly what tone of voice to use, his soft and friendly but stern one. Lauren knew that he was demanding that she told him in his own way but she'd rather that he'd just shouted at her to tell him because the friendlyness made it harder to resist telling them. She sighed again. "No, promise me that you guys won't start yelling at me or I'm not gonna tell you!" Lauren threw her hands up in the air but that was a fatal error. Regulus grabbed her right hand, the knuckles were slightly red but he couldn't tell that she'd punched someone, or so she thought. Because his eyes turned stern and he looked her straight in the face, it was clear he wasn't happy. "Lauren! How could you?!" He exploded, his cool, grey eyes blazing with fury. Lauren couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him this angry, though she refused to accept that he'd never been this angry before because that scared her more than anything. "I didn't mean to!" she shot back,"I just got so angry and then I didn't register what I was doing and then, yeah," Barty and Riley were watching the couple, both with confused and shocked looks on their faces, both wondering what she had done that was so bad that Regulus would get this angry. He sighed and flopped onto his bed, his stormy eyes not leaving her. It was as though time had stopped all together. Everyone in the dorm had stopped what they were doing to watch them and everyone was watching them, in fact, it seemed as though they would never stop watching them. Lauren felt her cheeks heat up and she sat down beside Regulus on his bed. "Did it seem bad?" He asked after a short time. He'd been trying to get his breath back to normal, taking deep inhales, short exhales and excetra until he was composed on the outside. Lauren felt like someone was turning down the volume on her voice, it was getting quieter and quieter but she didn't feel ashamed. He deserved it. "I think it," her voice broke into silence and she cleared her throat,"I think it broke." "Oh, Lauren-" Regulus sighed and the disappointment was more than she could take. "I don't know, okay? He just started saying horrible things, he called Alex a slut, Rue a pitiful excuse for a Slytherin, you two," she couldn't even say it but no one pressed,"and the marauders stupid and I just, something clicked and it crunched and blood," Lauren gasped because she realised that she'd been holding her breath,"and loads and loads of blood and I think it broke!" There was a note of hysteria in her voice and she couldn't afford a repeat of this morning where she appeared to loose her voice all together. Of course, Barty and Riley heard blood and the worst situations ran through their minds. Regulus shhed her and put a comforting arm around her, pulling her into his chest. He realised that he'd have to tell the others because it sounded as though she'd stabbed someone. "But do you wanna know what the worst thing is?" Lauren asked, her voice barely over a whisper. "What?" Regulus replied, talking into her silky, chestnut hair. "I'm glad. I mean the blood and everything but I don't regret it and after I punched him, I hoped that it broke." "What exactly happened?" Barty asked, his chocolate eyes still filled with the relief he felt when she returned. Riley was just standing there, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans and his browny-green eyes fixed on Lauren. "Lauren-" "I punched Malfoy." She interupted, her voice hoarse. Barty's eyes widened even more and Riley opened his mouth to say something but closed it after no words came out. Lauren hopped up and started pacing the room, back and forth, weaving in and out of beds, tables, clothes and people, the whole scene running through her mind again. She wouldn't be expelled right? All they could do was give her a detention and if they did then it wouldn't be too bad, it would be her first detention but it would be doable. It wouldn't kill her. Sure, people would be shocked, they wouldn't believe it at first but it would pass. Plus, people would be talking about her anyway. Lauren crossed over to the open window and breathed in the warm air, feeling the citrine suns rays drape her face and body. The sky was a perfect topaz and the clouds were dotted around, giving the impression that summer was definetly on it's way. "Eh," Barty shrugged, breaking the errie silence that was threatning to consume her,"He probably deserved it." Lauren spun around, too quickly and stumbled slightly, her auqamarine eyes were wide and she could feel the sweat that coated her forehead. Feeling a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, Lauren sat down on Regulus' bed, that creaked as she sat, and calmed herself down again. "I doubt Malfoy will tell anyone, anyway," Riley chipped in, smiling warmly,"It would probably be too shameful for the Malfoy name if he told people that he got punched by a girl." She felt a sudden friendlyness and greatfullness towards him, Lauren really wanted to jump up and throw her arms around him for making her feel better when he really didn't need to but she refrained, considering it might be a bit too awkward since she saw him in his pants this morning and the blush on both their faces alerted them that they hadn't forgotten. "But what if I broke his nose?" Lauren asked, looking directly into Riley's eyes and finding that that morning was all too fresh in their minds and averting her gaze. She pulled the cuffs of her jumper of her hands and wrapped it tighter around herself, even though she wasn't cold. She felt more comforted and better about the whole situation like this. "To be honest Lauren," Regulus said, a glint in his eyes,"I would love it if it was broken." Barty gave him a disapproving look but he ignored his boyfriend,"We have bigger problems at the moment though, like how the whole school is whispering about us right now." Lauren looked from Barty to Regulus and back again, her teal eyes flooding with empathy, she'd been so caught up in punching Malfoy and being worried about explusion that she'd forgotten why she'd punched him in the first place. He'd told the whole school by now, everyone knew but Malfoy wasn't going to win. Not now, not ever. "Exactly, so we're just gonna have to shrug off the stares and whispers because you know what?" Barty asked, his huge, chocolate eyes locking with her twinkling, teal ones,"He hasn't won and he isn't going to. Unless we let him. And I don't want him to, how about you guys?" She smiled at him as she broke the eye contact, feeling a whole lot better about the situation. "Plus, even though sometimes things feel like the end of the world, they're not. It's only school right? People get judged everyday behind their backs, we're just gonna get judged to our faces. I think it should be fun," Regulus rubbed his hands together and smirked, sliding his eyes from Barty to Lauren, the smirk growing. A small giggle escaped Lauren's lips, she couldn't believe that they were so calm about this, thier disparing faces this morning made it seem like the end of the world. "Well then, I'm starving because I haven't eaten since last night and I think dinners gonna be served soon." Smirking, Lauren looked from Regulus to Barty to Riley,"Let's go eat!" Riley and her locked eyes for a little longer than either wanted to and it was clear that neither of them would be getting over this morning anything time soon. Lauren would be lying if she of said that she wasn't worried, worried about the stares, the looks, the whispers but she couldn't start fretting now because Barty was right, Malfoy would win if they didn't show up for dinner and that overpowered her fear. Her stomach started to flutter though and she could imagine the stares and the whispers and it seemed unbareable but not impossible. She clung to those tiny shards of hope. The four of them set off, Regulus and Barty lagging behind slightly, Lauren and Riley went off, talking about school, subjects and anything really while Regulus and the rest of the boys in their dorm smirked behind them. Riley may have sort of had a massive crush on Lauren. There was no may or sort of about it.

The four of them stood infront of the tall, oak doors, the iron handles swaying in the wind and clanging against the wood, Lauren couldn't hear anything over the beat of her own heart and she was sure Riley, who was standing next to her, could hear it too. The buzz in the air was barely reaching them, they were all secretly worried, could you find them someone who wouldn't be? But they were all detemind. And a tiny bit of detemination goes a long way. Taking a deep breath, Lauren and Riley, who were standing infront of Regulus and Barty and the whole crowded hall, started to walk in. Lauren didn't realise that the stares would be this bad but she scowled at anyone who gave them a funny look and clung to Riley for support. No Literally. At one point she grabbed his hand by mistake, blushed and let go, fearing he would get the wrong idea. But he understood. They stayed fixed in their conversation, both trying to ignore the stares that were glaring onto their backs, both just talking about anything and everything. The whispers were the worst, hisses that followed them like snakes wherever they walked, swirling around their bodies. Regulus and Barty just ignored all the comments, all the stares and were even laughing. Lauren had just reached the emerald table when a certain platinum haired boy blocked her path, indigo bruises starting to appear on his pale face but, for once, he wasn't smirking, he was scowling and that was an achievement in itself. "I see your little freakshow has appeared," He drawled, glaring at Regulus and Barty. Riley tried to step in front of Lauren to protect her from Malfoy but she willingly stepped into the empty space between them, closing the gap. A smirk stretched across her lips. "Talking about freakshows? You clearly haven't looked in the mirror today," she spat, her smirk reaching her aquamarine eyes that glinted with humour and amusement as he scowled deeper at her and his eyes burned with pure hatred. But when he didn't say anything the vicorious feeling hit again and she smiled. Lifting a fist, Lauren went to hit Malfoy but stopped before her fist made contact with his face, the smirk pulling at her thin, pale lips again. She stepped closer. "You flinched." Lauren breathed and laughed, along with Barty, Regulus and Riley. Malfoy's normally pale cheeks tinged pink, he scowled and stalked back to the Slytherin table, with a very sour look on his face. Still laughing, they all took their seats at the table draped in emerald, all in a lot better spirits now. Alex and Rue greeted her with warm smiles and friendly chat, much to Lauren's relief, and they were nothing but polite. "I'm really sorry I haven't seen you guys much today! I've actually been so busy!" Lauren told them. Spooning mouthfuls of dinner in her mouth when she wasn't talking, the stares and whispers were still there but Lauren barely noticed. "So we've heard," Alex replied, an amused glint in her sky eyes,"Apparently you punched Malfoy?" Rue giggled slightly at how forward Alex was being and went back to eating her dinner. "Yeah and of course you've heard the rumours," Lauren rolled her eyes and smiled,"Who hasn't?" Shurgging, she spooned another mouthful of pasta into her mouth and took a swig from her smooth, golden goblet. She was met with Sirius' cool, grey stare a couple of times but she shrugged it off, along with everyone elses stares, she was just being a good friend and if that wasn't okay with him than she guessed she'd just have to forget the stupid crush she had on him and move on. People did it all the time, how hard could it be? Not to mention the fact that they hadn't spoken in ages, maybe all traces of their friendship was gone and now they were just two seperate people? Maybe that's all they could ever be? Lauren didn't believe in fait but maybe they weren't 'destined' to be together. After all they were completely opposites, he was Sirius, trouble maker, prankster, all round bad boy, she was Lauren, studious, sensible and all round good girl, maybe fait or destiny or whatever had other ideas for her? That's what they felt like to her now. Lauren didn't even know who he was anymore, a complete stranger with whom she always argued. They never use to argue. But people change. And Lauren would just have to accept that they didn't click anymore. Not best friends. Not friends. Not even aquaintences. They were nothing anymore. Strangers. Not even that. What were they?

Lauren said goodbye to Riley, Regulus and Barty after dinner, feeling a lot better about the day, and climbed up the glossy, marble stairs with Alex and Rue in the wake. The trio slipped through the smooth hallway, all of them longing to get back to their room and sleep, and that was the only thing on their minds as they approached the tall, wooden door. Tiredly, she grabbed the cool, brass handle and flicked, they all clambored into the warm dormitory, greatful for this day to be over. But no one was more greatful than Lauren. The whispers and stares would meet them for quite some time because Malfoy was right; rumours spread very fast and she realised that the school were like hungry dogs; they would chew on one bone until a fresh one was thrown to them. So, until the next piece of gossip was spread they would kept being talked about, but at least the truth was out in the open now and, even though they didn't want the truth to be uncovered, the truth was always the best way to go about things. People would soon get bored or the Regulus and Barty 'scandle', they would soon get use to the fact that they were a couple and they were gonna stay together no matter what happened. People may not like it but they were going to have to live with it and accept that they couldn't do anything. Pulling on her pajamas felt like the best thing in the world, the soft material soft and comforting against her stiff limbs, hopefully she would sleep well tonight. Alex and Rue didn't talk as they got ready for bed, everyone was too tired for any kind of coversation and an exchange of weary nodds was all the night that they were going to recieve. But she realised that Regulus was completely right; sometimes it seems like the end of the world but it's not. Nothing is so bad that there is no solution. Today should've been the day from hell but Malfoy didn't win and that turned everything around. Sure, there would probably be rude names and whispers to come, well, there certainly would but it wasn't something that they couldn't cope with. Plus, Lauren had a lot more pressing issues on her mind, issues that she wished were as easy as ignoring. Yawning, she brushed through her recently washed hair, hearing the sound of heavy breaths filling the dorm. Lauren peeled back the warm, inviting covers that night with the same question flying round her mind; what were her and Sirius? but her body felt so exhausted that as soon as the warmth seeped through her pajamas she forgot all questions and fell alseep.

CHAPTER 43: MAYBE SUNDAYS WEREN'T SO BORING AFTER ALL

Sunday was a boring day for everyone, it meant squeezing in last minute studying for a test you only just found out about or rushing those pieces of homework that you forgot all about. Nothing ever exciting happened on a sunday, it was either homework or studying but if you're one of the very rare few, and there was only about four students, who managed to do all their homework and had already revised or didn't have a test than sunday was the most relaxed day of the week. Lauren sat in the library, the smell of leather and books filling her nostrils, surronded by towering, wooden book shelves packed with different coloured books, from vibrant yellow to deep ebony, on every subject you could imagine, from dark magic books to care of magical creatures ones, this was her idea of perfection. The thought of Alex realising that she had about eight pieces of homework due brought a smile to her lips, or when Rue realises that she's got to put down the Herbology book or she'll be in detention, but this is how Lauren always spends her sundays. For some it's the most boringist and exhausting days of the week but for her it's the best and most relaxed day, Lauren always comes here on this particular day, always in this spot and reads. She reads for the whole day until the library closes and she's forced to go back to the noisy common room with frantic people scribbling down last minute notes or essays. Lauren could feel the citrine suns rays pouring through the window and draping her, the weather was getting even better, the sky was pure topaz again with scarse lines of fluffy, white clouds, the grounds were as perfect as always, the perfect olivine green, the silvery lake was rippling and giving off the same tranquil feel and the silence of the library was a massive contrast compared to the grounds, the common room or the great hall. The silence was very much welcomed. Flipping another creamy page, Lauren's aquamarine eyes danced over the black, printed writing as she got lost in the fantasy and adventure. Okay, the kissing couples ruinted the sceene slightly, well, a lot and a couple of times Lauren considered threatning to punch them but she didn't want that kind of reputation and that thought always brought a smile to her lips. She'd been reading Pride and Prejudist for a while now and she'd enjoyed every moment of it, she reserved it for the sundays when she could sit in peace, with only the sound of kissing to break the silence, and truly get away from all her thoughts. Getting lost in a book was one of the best feelings she could expereince, it meant that Lauren could break away from reality for a whole day, get away from all the looks and whispers, which obviously weren't as bad when she was alone, and get away from the thoughts that hung over her like in those cartoons where a man has a rain cloud over his head. The library was the only place she wouldn't have those thoughts looming over her, the only place she wouldn't have to face the reality that was staring her straight in the face and it was the one place that managed to push all her worries away. Neither Alex or Rue would understand, but they never got a break from homework anyway, they would think she was mad but it truly was the only place which was quiet and serine, where her thoughts seemed to evaporated like a puddle under the strong, blaring rays from the sun. The library was warm and the strong rays poured through the huge, long windows, you could see all of Hogwarts out of them. They stretched down half of the wall, giving it an airy feel, and white, swirling patterns covered them, twisting and turning like snakes, the intricate designs gave the library an aged but delicate feel. The wooden chairs scraped against the bare wood floor whenever someone sat down and the leather cushions had definetly seen better days but it all added to the feel and the wooden desktops were covered with leather, either deep crimson or rich emerald, with gold or silver swirls lining the edges. A noise made Lauren's teal eyes shoot up, twinkling in the citrine rays. The wooden chair next to her, with a deep crimson cushion, had scraped across the rough, wooden floor and Amos Diggory was unpacking a book bound in rich, chocolate leather with reflective, gold writing, he smiled at her but didn't speak because the silence was too captivating. Lauren had learned to love silence, before it was this awkward thing that fell when people had run out of things to say or an eerie thing that freaked her out but in a place where noise is inevitable and where silence is never found, there's truly nothing more beautiful. Just then, Sirius walked through the double wooden doors, he'd hardly ever been here, maybe once in first year, but Remus was forcing him to find a book on DADA for his homework and he'd obliged, mostly just because he knew that he could find Lauren here. But his stormy gaze fell upon her silky, chestnut hair and twinkling teal eyes and she wasn't alone. He loved how she tilted the left side of her head up very slightly when she read, so that the citrine sun rays reached the left side of her jaw first, it was only fractionally and most people wouldn't notice, but he found it hard not to notice new things about her. Like how when she was trying to look innocent she'd widened her eyes, of course they twinkled that was one of the first things he noticed about her, the pupils would dihalate, again only slightly, if you looked away for more than a second you'd miss it, but he always noticed things that other people wouldn't and it drove him crazy. Sirius decided that it was probably best not to disturb her, especially with Amos there, the whole school knew he was in love with her, he clenched his fists out of habit, but he wasn't jealous. He wasn't. Absoluelty not. Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, he walked over to one of the tall, wooden bookshelves and began scanning the titles on the spines, gliding his stormy eyes across every one. Lauren glanced up, she thought she'd seen, out of the corner of her eye, but it couldn't be. It could and it was. Sirius Black was in the library, and not for a prank or anything, in the library and looking very confused. She had to stifle a giggle as she watched him frowning at the books lined on the shelf, cocking his head slightly and folding his arms loosly over his chest. Lauren slid her book back into her material, green bag, smiled at Amos and stood up. Wincing as her chair scraped against the floor, she slung the bag on her shoulder and crossed the library to where he was standing. Meanwhile, Sirius was getting confused about the sections of this library, they weren'talphabetical, the names or the authors, and he checked first names and last, they weren't from oldest to newest and they weren't in any order! Well, none that he could figure out. "You look very confused," A voice said behind him and a smile reached his lips as he recognised it immediatly. Realising how stupid he looked, Sirius straightened out his lips and the confused expression was back again. He spun around and there she was, draped in the citrine rays from the sun, her aquamarine eyes twinkling in the natural light. He was relieved to see that a friendly smile was planted on her lips, not mocking or one of exasperation. "I am," He replied, hoping he didn't sound like a total idiot,"This library doesn't make sense." It was Lauren's turn to look confused, her fair eyebrows pulled together and she cocked her head to the side, her teal eyes brimming with curiousity. Her face broke into a smile and she laughed, not a mocking laugh but a genuine one. "What book are you looking for?" Lauren asked, stepping closer to his side and reading the piece of torn, creamy parchment that he was holding, the writing was too neat to be his and she knew that it was Remus'. She tried to conceal a smile but it kept pulling at her lips and eventually she had to give in, her aquamarine eyes were full of humour when she looked into his. "What?" Sirius asked, suddenly feeling defensive as to why she was laughing at him. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his skinny, really skinny, black jeans and tried to pull his thick, black eyebrows into a frown but after several attempts he gave up and resulted to just trying to look angry as best as he could. Lauren felt slightly guilty but she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. "You're looking for a DADA book, right?" she asked it the way you talked to a todler but it sounded slightly less patronsing coming from her and he realised that he actually didn't mind if she made fun of him. Sirius had to force himself to focus on what she was saying instead of how glossy her hair looked as it fell down her back in flicky waves or how her eyes glistened in the citrine light that poured through the huge windows. Snapping himself out of the exact daze he was trying to aviod, he forced himself to focus on what she was saying. "Well, yeah, I think that's what it is anyway," He replied, frowning slightly as he tried to remember what Remus had told him. "And this is the Herbology section," she rolled her eyes at him,"You need a complete other section." Lauren put her hands on her hips and shook her head in disbelief. Sirius' frown deepened, he tilted his jaw up and scanned the library. "How do you tell?" He thought this seemed like a perfectly logical question, there weren't any signs or any indication as to what books the shelves contained. However, Lauren looked at him like he'd just asked her what two plus two was. He shifted uncomfortably under her piercing gaze and felt his cheeks getting hotter, he hated the fact that she was the only one who could make him blush. "Well, you see, if you see a book that's something to do with Herbology, you're in the Herbology section," Lauren told him, noticing that his cheeks were slightly pink, but he never blushed, right?"If you're not sure than slide out a book and check. But if you're skilled like me," Lauren smiled to show that she was teasing,"Than you know the shelves off by heart." Sirius rolled his eyes at her in a playful way, casting his stormy eyes over the library. He met none other than Amos Diggory's chocolate gaze and a smirk automatically plastered on his face, to which Amos scowled and went back to reading, after one last look at Lauren, who was scanning the shelves, her chestnut hair falling down her back in flicky waves. Obvlious to all of this, Lauren was searching the shelves around them. "Since you're such an expert," he couldn't help the smirk that grew on his lips,"Than show me where the DADA books are otherwise Remus will kill me. He's already on my case constantly about History of Magic homework, I don't need him to moan about DADA as well!" Without thinking Lauren grabbed his hand, her intentions were completely innocent, she merely meant to lead him to where the DADA books were but she feared that he wouldn't see it like that, droped it and blushed. Sirius was shocked, he couldn't believe that she'd just gone to hold his hand, he knew that she didn't mean it like that but her skin felt soft and slightly cold, what shocked him more was that his stomach fluttered when she grabbed it. Actually fluttered. Lauren mumbled something, her cheeks as bright as the rising sun, and started to walk off, Sirius snapped out of his daze and followed her across the library, still thinking about the feeling that struck him when she grabbed his hand. Lauren felt herself burning red hot, she hadn't meant to hoold his hand or anything, until her cheeks cooled down, she wouldn't meet his gaze and concentrated on finding the DADA books, which didn't take much concentration as she knew them off by heart but she didn't wanna think about what had just happened. Content that her cheeks didn't look like pits of fire, Lauren turned back around to him a smiled. She slid a leather bound book out of the shelf to her left, the leather felt smooth and soft on her finger tips, Lauren extended her arm, holding the book out to him, the silver lettering reflected the light and gleemed. "Is that the book?" Sirius asked, unsure as to what her motive was. She sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly at him. He felt self consious again, what had he done that was so stupid now? "Do you remember what I told you? You identify the shelves by sliding on of the books out, this one," she pointed to the brown, leather book she was holding,"is DADA which means these shelves are full of that genre." Sirius nodded, even though he wasn't taking much of it in, he was still thinking back to when she grabbed his hand. And the strangest thing was, he wanted her to grab it again. He was secretly hoping that she would but after how she'd blushed it clearly wasn't going to happen again. Lauren spun back around and started searching the shelves. Her silky, chestnut hair was pushed over her shoulders and flowed down her back in flicky waves, her teal eyes were taking in every letter of the books and a pale finger was brushing against the spines, muttering the names under her breath. She moved slowly along the shelf, checking every book, every gold, black, green, indigo or silver letter and holding the piece of torn parchment in her other hand, barely even holding it. Sirius shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and watched as she darted from one shelf to another, checking every book. A smile lit up her whole face, it captivated his gaze, her eyes were positively shining, she tapped the book she wanted and cocked her head slightly. Slipping it out from its' place, Lauren held up the piece of creamy parchment and checked it against the amber cover of the book. A small nod signalled that she'd found the right one and she strode back to Sirius, extending the book out to him. He sighed. It must've been at least eight hundred pages and even Lauren, who was quite strong, had to hold it in two hands. The expression that he was pulling made her giggle, he looked utterly repulsed and leant back as though she was holding a moster in her hands. Sirius did not want to sift through that book looking for the chapter he wanted, in fact, he'd rather do anything apart from have to read that book, it would be like torture for him and again she was laughing at him. "I am not reading that!" Sirius exclaimed, looking straight into her glimmering, aquamarine eyes and frowning. Lauren laughed again. "You are such a pratt sometimes, you know that?" Lauren asked, still smiling. Again, Sirius felt his cheeks heat up and he had no idea why, all he knew was that if it was anyone else he wouldn't of been blushing and he wouldn't of let them call him a pratt."It's for reference!" She said, like it was the most obvious thing ever but when Sirius frowned at her, she sighed."You only have to read the chapter or paragraph about what you're researching!" He nodded to show he understood and he couldn't help the smile that was pulling at his lips. "I am not a pratt!" He exclaimed, sliding a book out of the shelf next to him, a black one bound in velvet with slver writing, and hit her on the arm playfully. Lauren glowered at him and started rubbing her arm. But after a while they were both laughing. "Don't do that to the books! Madam Prince will have your head!" Lauren hissed, grabbing the book that he was holding loosly by his side. Sirius let her take the book and watched as she carefully slid it back into its place, muttering about the spine and something about the condition of the cover. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight, who got that worked up about a book? "What?" Lauren asked, turning towards him and frowning. She thought that she'd of preffered to be alone but actually being here with him was quite fun and she was enjoying herself more than she thought that she would. She knew that everything was just getting more and more complicated between them but Lauren didn't care at that precise moment because she didn't want to be lost in the world of her book, she wanted to be in reality with him. The fantasy world of her book could surely wait until next sunday? "Nothing," he said unconvincingly and started laughing again, just her expression was enought to make him start laughing again. He also noticed the cute way that her nose wrinkled when she was angry."It's just that I've never met someone whose so..." he searched for the word but nothing could really describe the way she cared for the books like they were children. "So what?" Lauren asked, her nose wrinkling again, the laughter that he was trying to conceal was threatning to burst out of him like a balloon that's been filled with too much air. "I can't find a word for it but it's like you care for the books like they're children," He answered, shrugging. His attempt at casual wasn't really working and Lauren raised her eyebrows questioningly. "And that's a bad thing?" She asked, her hands on her hips and her brown furrowed. Sirius felt stupid now, she probably assumed that he was trying to insult her but the truth was that it was the completely oppsite, he was trying to compliment her. "No, it's a good thing. I guess it's just," he paused trying to think of the right word to use,"cute?" As soon as the word escape his lips a blush arose to his cheeks and he turned his stormy eyes away from her and towards the ground. Lauren's eyes widened as he said the word, had he just called her cute? Was he blushing? She shook her head slightly to clear it, he was probably just paying her a compliment and he worded it wrong or didn't realise how the word would sound in that context. But a small part of her wanted for it to be exactly what he meant and for Sirius to truly mean it, she knew he didn't but Lauren hoped. "Thanks," she muttered,"I think?" Sirius didn't bother looking up but smiled, it must've looked weird since he was technically smiling at the ground but he knew she must've seen. "Yeah," He replied, feeling his cheeks getting hotter with every agonising second that passed. Lauren didn't know what to say, for once in her life she didn't want the silence, she wanted him to talk more because she was secretly enjoying the time that they were spending together. They were both thinking the same thing, Sirius knew that he was only being a jerk to her because he was jealous of all the guys that were around constantly, even if Barty and Regulus were gay, since he'd only found out yesterday, he'd also learnt that she had one hell of a right hook as he watched her punch Malfoy yesterday. But guys were constantly talking to her and, as much as he tried to hide it, he couldn't help but feel jealous. Plus, quite a few guys fancied her which didn't help, if only he knew who she fancied. "Anyway-"  
"So-" They both said at the same time, their eyes met and they both blushed. Sirius took a deep breath and approached a tricky subject that he knew that would have to talk about sometime. His brother and Barty. "Er, Lauren?" Sirius asked, unsure of whether he should risk ruining the good time they were having. Her eyes shot up, her cheeks still tinged pink and they met his cool, grey stare."I just wanted you to know that I understand why you didn't tell me about Regulus, well, why you couldn't." Lauren felt her mouth pull up into a smile, she'd hoped that he didn't balme her but she was unsure until now. Upon seeing her smile, Sirius returned it, his stormy eyes flooding with warmth. "Anyway," Lauren sighed, smiling,"You should probably get back with that book, Remus will be wondering where you've got to." She told him, looking straight into his cool, grey eyes. Sirius knew that he should go back and do his DADA homework but he didn't want to leave Lauren because he didn't know when they'd get time like this again, just them two, well and Amos but Sirius loved seeing how jealous he was getting. She was apparently oblivious to the scowls that Sirius was recieving from Amos but Sirius found them laughable, just eviling him because he was hanging out with Lauren. He stopped smiling when he realised that he did that. "I don't wanna do my DADA homework, it's gonna be boring." Sirius whined, he knew that he sounded like a three year old but it was the truth, he didn't understand how people like Remus and Lauren actually did their homework the day it was set. Lauren looked like she was deciding something, her lips were pursed and frown lines appeared on her pale forehead. "Well, I could, I mean, help you?" Lauren asked, feeling her cheeks flush,"It's cool if you wanna do it with Remus or y'know whatever." She added quickly after she'd realised how pathetic that sounded. Apparently Sirius didn't think so. "Yeah, I mean if that's okay with you?" Sirius replied, feeling a stupid smile stretch across his face. His smile increased when he saw that she was blushing, pink was creeping up her cheeks and he thought she looked really pretty when she did. "Sure," Lauren replied, smiling warmly at him. They walked over to a wooden desk with rich, emerald leather on the top, they slid out two chairs, that made an awful noise as they scraped across the floor, Sirius sat on one with crimson leather and Lauren sat on one with emerald leather. She unpacked the extra parchment and quills that she kept in her green, material bag and set them out on the table, Sirius watching her all the while. But even after they'd completed his homework, Sirius found it near impossible to concentrate while Lauren was tutoring him, his mind kept drifting to how silky her hair looked or how twinkly her eyes were and it made him look like an idiot that didn't know anything but if Lauren thought that, she was doing a very good job of hiding it. They stayed in the library all day, neither exactly sure why but they just sat there and either talked or read, well, Sirius watched Lauren while she read. He had really grown to love how she cocked her head slightly when she read, it looked very cute and he found himself staring at her like a lovesick puppy. She didn't seem to mind and seemed not to notice when he took to staring at her for long periods of time. Before they knew it, Madam Prince was ushering them out of the library and they were saying goodbye, heading to their common rooms. Neither had any idea how they'd come to spend the whole day together, it the library of all places! but they both realised as they headed to their different places that they both really enjoyed the day. No one questioned her when Lauren entered the dorm late, that was usual for her on a sunday but no one knew how very far from normal that sunday had been. Sundays were boring for everyone, well, almost everyone.

The following morning it was as though that day in the library never happened. Tiredly, Lauren checked her time table, scanning the parchment carefully, and realised that she had no lessons with him. Out of anger she threw the paper across the room, feeling her breathing getting heavier and her palms start to sweat, Alex and Rue turned to her with surprised expressions. Feeling the heat from the crimson, morning sun on her back, Lauren stood up and crossed the room to get her time table, rolling her eyes at herself. Rays of crimson sunlight were dancing across the untidy room, Lauren squinted her misted eyes against the strong light and started to get ready for school. Her chestnut hair resembled silk in the morning sun as she darted around the messy room, frantically gathering her things she needed for that day. "Lauren?" Alex asked, taking a tentive step towards Lauren like the kind you do before stepping into the sea, testing the temperature of the water. Tucking a blond curl behind her ear, Alex stepped forwards, more confident this time, and smiled. Lauren lifted her head at the sound, her chestnut hair swaying from where it was pushed behind her back, her eyebrows raised in question. She grimaced at her best friends smile and perpared herself internally for what was about to be asked. Seeing Lauren's eyebrows raised, Alex continued. "Well, there's this party tonight in the grand hall for Alice's brithday, you know that Gryffindor, and she invited literally everyone in the year. So," she glanced at Rue,"We were gonna go and we were wondering if you wanted to...?" Lauren sighed, she new this had been coming for weeks, since the party had been announced, but she couldn't find a decent excuse. She brushed a strand of chestnut hair that had fallen into her aquamarine eyes and took a deep breath. Pursing her lips, Lauren racked her brain for an excuse but it seemed the harder she tried, the more scrambled her ideas became like trying to hold onto a dream. Her lips were fastly loosing their colour, the cracks were more visible than ever, and, with her ideas failing miserably, she gave in. "Fine. Fine whatever." Lauren grimaced at the thought,"Why is she having her party on a monday?" The thoughts the party induced seemed positively torturous and small fabrications of it plagued her mind. With another long sigh, Lauren shoved her books into her bag and tried to wipe her mind of all thoughts of the party. But this was harder than she thought.

CHAPTER 44: THE PARTY

It was as though no one could think of anything else but the party. All of that day small, huddled groups whispered, the tables were in joint conversations about it and notes were passed during class, it didn't take a genuis to work out what they said. Lauren soon grew tired with the questions that were being shot at her like bullets, what was she wearing, what time was she arriving, how was she doing her hair. The never ending questions seemed to pour out of the students mouths like water, anyone would think that there had never been a party at Hogwarts before. The truth was, Lauren hadn't really thought about any of that, she wasn't excited for the party, she was dreading it. The low hum of conversation was present in every lesson and the questions didn't stop. No matter how many times she 'ummed' or 'mmmed' to them, people just wouldn't give up. The worries only stopped when the students were forced to quieten down and actually do some work, Lauren couldn't believe that all this commotion was just for a party. The day was a weird mixure of dragging and flying by. She was dreading the party so the time flew by but the constant boring conversations made it the time drag. It was as though the day was conflicted but either way was punishment for her and by the time the bell rang for lunch Lauren was ready to kill someone. The flood of students was increased by the news of the party and rumours spread like a raging fire. Rumours of enchanted cakes that sung happy birthday, of self-moving chairs that meant that no work was needed to set out the grand hall, of talking candles and singing tables. It seemed that common sense wasn't that common at all. Lauren wondered how people could believe them. And to top it all of it appeared that Marlene had moved on from Dean and onto Sirius. She had to watch all through lunch as Marlene tried to sit on his lap or twirl his hair or flirt with him in general. Lauren couldn't remember having a crappier day. And so the torture continued. She couldn't decide what was worse; the party or Marlene trying to sit on Sirius' lap every chance she got. The rumours spread faster and faster, they had even speculated that the weird sisters, the famous wizard band, were going to be playing but Lauren didn't take any notice. The concept of a party didn't excite or uplift her, she wasn't a boring person by any means but the loud music, drunk students, dancing children, kissing couples and dimmed lights seemed like a recepie for disaster. She started to feel resentment bubbling away inside her like acid, Lauren couldn't take anymore and she finally snapped. "What are you gonna wear?" Pansy asked her in potions, Alice had invited everyone from every house which surprised Gryffindor house; the rivalary between them and Slytherin was as thick as blood, her emerald eyes flickering with excitement. But Lauren was having a crappy day already and watching Marlene making huge, doey eyes at Sirius over her cauldron didn't exactly help her mood. She was just stiring the inky black potion and holding the furry, emerald book in the other hand, flicking her teal eyes from one to the other, when she felt anger explode within her, like a volcanoe. "Do I look like I'm in my dorm at the moment, Pansy?" Lauren replied, her voice sharp and icy. A couple of the people around her turned their heads at her snappy voice, everyone knew she was always bubbly, but they looked away as soon as they met Lauren's gaze. Pansy looked up, her emerald eyes wide, her cropped, black hair shoved back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. "No, obviously not." Pansy answered, her voice changing volume as she spoke. The ponytail swished from side to side as Pansy looked from a furious Lauren to an equally furious Professor Greyson, he clearly didn't care for parties. "Then how should I know?" She snapped back, her aquamarine eyes darting from the cauldron to Pansy. By the time Lauren had got back to her messy dorm, she had snapped at several more people and wasn't feeling in the mood to party.

All she could do was stare at the garments that were stuffed quickly and lazily into her allocated wooden chest, nothing fitted the occasion. They were flowing out onto the soft, cream carpet and looked like rags; they were all creased or bundled up. Lauren sighed in exasperation, all she had were jeans and Quidditch tops, that was it, no dresses, no skirts, no lacey tops, nothing. She flopped down onto her comfy bed and rubbed her tired eyes. A thought then hit her like a slap in the face. Lauren jumped up, so suddenly that she had to stand still and lean on a wooden pillar of her bed to stop her head spinning, she had a black skirt, it was plain and suppose to be for school but it was too short, only hitting the middle of the thigh and she could find one of the designer tops her mum had bought her. Maybe things could go right. Lauren slipped the short, black skirt over her thick, ebony tights, the material of the skirt was tough and there was barely any give. This meant that she felt extremely self consious, even though the tights were nearly leggings, the skirt wouldn't pull any further and it barely covered but she didn't dwell on this factor and set about rooting through her draws for a top. A huge grin lit up her face as she remembered she had the navy top with lace on the shoulders that she wore yesterday. It would have to do. Tugging at the strong material of the skirt once more, nothing happened except that the lips of her long, pale fingers went bright red, she pulled the navy top over her head and studied herself in the mirror. She looked older than she ever had before, more mature. A small, sly smile crept up Lauren's face as she stuffed her wand into her boot and took once last glance in the smeered mirror. The longer she looked, the more the nerves made her stomach flutter and the stronger the sensation of being sick washed over , the thick, wooden dorm door swung open and her two best friends appeared, a sigh escaped her at the sight of them. Lauren could of sworn she saw their eyes flare at her skirt but didn't press on the issue, the nerves were taking over. Rue was wearing a cute, lacey blue dress, it was dark indigo and complemented her copper skin. The sleves were cut just before the elbow and had tiny diamonds lining the hem. Alex went more mature, she was wearing a floaty, gold dress, the actual dress was made of golden silk that stopped about three inches above the knee but a cape of shiffon fabric floated all the way down to the floor, ticking her ankles as it flew. The shiffon fabric swirled around her legs as she moved and the leather, brown sandles that she teemed with it made her look like a greek goddess. Along with her silky, blond hair, Alex looked like she was glowing. Lauren felt a dead weight of envy pulling at her chest, Rue looked cute and innocent in her dress and Alex looked like an angel, minus the halo, she wouldn't get a second glance. Lauren didn't even know why Slytherin was invited, it was well-known that Gryffindors and Slytherins hated each other, so why they were invited to her party was a mystery. "Why are we even invited? I don't think anyone has ever had a proper conversation with Alice," Lauren pointed out, tugging a brush through her tangled, chestnut hair. She hadn't been able to formulate an answer in her head as to why they were, it was true that Lauren was the person that was most involved with Gryffindors, the other Slytherin fourth years just called them mudbloods or blood traitors or, on one occasion, Lauren had walked into the common room and found the fourth year boys huddled in a circle and she had overheard swearwords that she wouldn't have dared say. The main rivalry was between the boys, Quidditch didn't help this, Malfoy, Snape and a couple of other boys had refered to them as W's and expressed their pure hatred. The fact that annoyed them most was that, even though they were half bloods or blood traitors in the eyes of the Slytherin boys, the Slytherin girls would've dated the Gryffindor bad boys. "Maybe she was just being kind," Alex shrugged, applying a thick line of gold eyeliner to her lid,"The fued is more between the boys than any of the girls. I find it all a bit stupid, to be honest, and I would assume that Alice does too." It was amazing how clever Alex could be without trying, sure, she couldn't remember spells, she couldn't name stars, she couldn't tell you the ingredience of a potion but she could see things as they were without her house clouding her vision. Lauren was stil dragging the brush through her knotty hair, strands kept falling out but she was beyond caring. Tugging out yet more hair, she sighed and set the brush back down on the smooth, wooden surface of her chest of draws. Smoothing it back, she tied it in a lose ponytail at the base of her neck and pulled it around, so it was curling around the left side of her pale neck. Turning away from the mirror, Lauren checked that her wand was still placed in her ankle boot and ironed out her clothes against her body, she just wanted to get this over with. Rue was slipping on her delicate, black ballet pumps and twisting her curly, black hair into plaits at the side of her head. Alex was applying a nude lipstick to her plump lips, her eyes were defined by gold liner, her cheeks had an artifical rose glow and her face looked flawless, a couple of shades darker than her natural colour. Clapping her hands together, Alex announced that she was done as well and the three of them headed off to the party. Lauren's nerves were getting the better of her, she felt like she could be sick any moment, Alex was positively bouncing on her heels and Rue was smiling, a middle of the two girls emotions.

The pounding of the music travelled down every corridor in Hogwarts, it was the first thing Lauren heard when she walked up the dungeons and by the time they reached the worn, wooden doors, she felt like her ears were going to bleed. The loud music extinguished any conversation and Lauren felt like it was shaking her brain. Dazzling lights flashed before her teal eyes, emerald, ruby, blue sapphire and light topaz. They left permenant shapes on her retinas and the whole thing made her feel slightly queasy; the sooner this was over, the better. The hall had been completely transformed; the house tables had been taken away and small islands of plastic chairs and wooden tables were dotted around, the platform where Dumbledore ususally spoke had been to used to display the food and drinks, streams of fabric had been hung from the ceiling, ruby and yellow, huge speakers were proped up against the teachers table emitting a loud, booming sound that vibrated the floor. The three girls made they way through the immense crowds, it seemed like everyone who'd been invited had turned up, even the Slytherin's. As Lauren had predicted, Alex was getting looks of awe and astonishment, to which she pretended to be oblivious. They made their way to where three girls were standing, one with vibrant, crimson hair, one with long, silky, black hair and one with mousy hair, Lauren's nerves grew as she recognised Marlene as the one with mousy hair and sent a warning look to Alex, one that she knew she understood. Alice was dressed in a silky, ruby dress that was cut just above the knee, her glossy, black hair was left to flow down her back in ruler-straight, silky strands. Her warm, brown eyes were outlined by thick, black eyeliner, her cheeks were tinted with rose blusher and her lips were a deep shade of crimson, it appeared to Lauren like her lips were bleeding. Lily was dressed in a flowy, emerald dress that matched her startling eyes, it ended just around her ankles and twirled around them whenever she made the slightest movement, her crimson hair was pushed back into a bun with curly strands sliding down her make-up free face. Marlene was wearing a very short corral dress, it barely covered her bum and Lauren felt immediatly better about the length of her skirt, her mousy hair was scraped back into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her face was covered with foundation that was at least four shades darker than her actual skin, her lips were a garish pink colour and she'd penciled in her eyebrows black, which violently constrasted with the pink of her dress and gave her the appearence of those drawings that kids do, where each person would draw a different part of the body and this one had not gone well. Lauren sent beaming smiles to Alice and Lily, who returned them instantly, and sent a smile as fake as silicone boobs to Marlene, who returned it with as much malice as it had been sent. The booming of the music meant that Lauren had to get extremely close to Alice to be able to hearing anything that was being said to her. She felt Alex shift uncomfortably beside her as their arms brushed, she clearly didn't even want to be in the same room as Marlene and,as much as she hated to admit it, Lauren felt the same way. She leaned in closer, beamed once again to Alice and Lily, and reached down into her boot for Alice's present. "Happy Birthday," Lauren near shouted over the roar of comversations and the constant boom of the music. She extended a flat palmed hand with a small, box laying flat, it was wrapped in ruby paper, which Lauren had chosen, and wasn't much bigger than a tennis ball. Alice beamed and said, what Lauren assumed was thanks and gratitude, placing the small box in her own hand and examining it with her liquid, brown eyes. She had to step even closer to be heard properly and Lauren wasn't particuarly comfortable being this close. "Sorry about putting it my boot, this skirt has no pockets!" Lauren exclaimed, lifting up her navy top and patting her sides to emphasize her point, meanwhile Alex was sending looks of death pointed at Marlene, who was sending them straight back."Who makes a skirt without pockets anyway?" Lauren asked, more to herself than anyone else. She was caught up in her own thought process and was completely oblivious to Alex and Marlenes silent death match. Rue was just standing by Lauren's side, it didn't take a genius to guess who she was looking for, Edward should've been there any minute. Alice was smiling with an amused look on her face and Lily was laughing to herself, Lauren had a talent of making people laugh when she wasn't even trying, just by being herself really. She could never decide whether this was a good or bad thing. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," Alice announced, extending a hand towards Lauren and smiling again."I'm Alice, as you probably already know." Her laugh was tinkly and exactly how Lauren expected a girly girls laugh to sound. She couldn't help the smile that was spreading across her face, Alice was a genuine girl and why she hung around with someone like Marlene was a mystery to anyone. Returning the smile, Lauren shook her hand and laughed too. "Lauren. That's Alex," she pointed to the girl on her left who was still in a silent death match with Marlene,"and that's Rue." Lauren gestured to the small, tanned girl who was casting her huge, chocolate eyes around the packed hall, looking for her boyfriend. Alice smiled to both the girls, her black hair swaying slightly as she tilted her head fractionally. "I know, I've heard quite a lot about you." She replied and laughed, her tinkling laugh again. Alice's laugh sounded like a chiming bell and seemed to echo more than the loud thump of the music. Lauren wasn't sure what she meant by this, had Lily told her this, it must've been Lily, no one else would talk that much about her. She cocked her head slightly in confusion but the smile was still planted on her lips, it was impossible to get annoyed at someone like Alice, or Lily for that matter, but that didn't stop a twinge of curiousity sparking up inside her, like the start of a blazing fire. In reply, Alice sent Lily a sly smile, Lily looked slightly more stern than her laughing friend, and Alice waved a hand in mid air to dismiss the question that hadn't yet fully formed in Lauren's head. The small spark crackled into a roaring fire and Lauren found herself longing to know what Alice had meant but she refrained from asking, she had dismissed it and that meant it probably wasn't that important. Just some old inside joke between best friends. There was something about that smile though, something that had indicated it was more important than Alice was letting on. Their friendly conversation was interupted by raised voices right beside them, it seemed that Alex's and Marlene's death stares weren't silent anymore. "...Here to ruin another relationship are we? After all, it's your only talent, that and being a whore." Alex spat, her sea eyes flaring up at the word whore, as if they were empathizing her point. Marlene didn't even flinch, she just stared right at Alex, ready to send another insult snapping back. Lauren hadn't ever seen Alex like this, her words were fulled by pure hatred for what she had done, Marlene had broken up her relationship that was going well and she could and would never forgive the Gryffindor for that. Marlene had opened her poignantly bright lips to form a comeback when Lauren felt like she should interviene, she had only just met Alice and she didn't want their premature friendship destroyed by a petty fight. "Alex," Lauren barked, she said it with such authority that everyone there turned to look at her, their eyes a mix of shock and almost awe, the way a student would look up to a teacher that they admired. Even Alex had been startled by the tone of voice her best friend had used, she immediatly knew that she had overstepped the mark and without saying anything but a name, Lauren had made Alex feel guilty about what she had said. The commanding voice had shocked even the user, Lauren had never really spoken to anyone like that and, what made it scarier was the fact that everyone had fallen silent at once. She softened her tone."Didn't you say you had to find Skye?" Relieved that Lauren hadn't shouted at her, Alex nodded sharply, turned around and vanished into the crowds at once. The friendly atmosphere descended upon the fivesome once more, Lauren sent them amicable smiles and returned to the polite conversation again. She hadn't realised how much she'd taken Regulus and Barty for granted, it was a lot easier to converse with them around because their good looks and charming smiles meant that people took an immediate liking to them. Lauren always had these insecurities that would follow her around like a second shadow and whisper to her when she was most vulnerable, they would be superficial things like if people didn't like her, if she was pretty enough, if she was skinny enough but they would play on her mind constantly.

CHAPTER 45: SEVERUS SNAPE

"Lauren," Rue breathed under her breath, she only heard it because they were less than a centimeter apart,"I'm gonna go find Alex, then I'm gonna find Edward." Lauren and Rue had been speaking to Alice and Lily for over an hour, Alice was a very down to earth girl and said nothing but compliements and courteous remarks, which made all Lauren's insecurites about meeting new people ebb away like the peeling paint of an ancient building that had been abandoned long ago. A curt nod instructed Rue that she had heard her and Lauren was thinking of an excuse to make that wouldn't appear rude or insult them. "Sorry but we should probably find Alex," Lauren started in her softest voice,"She's had plenty of time to cool down now." The breath that she'd be storing up in antisipation for their reaction was released when they sent her friendly smiles and noded, saying things like that they'd have to chat again and talk of homework and study groups. Even though guilt washed over her, Lauren felt a small relief when they left the girls, she found it hard to be completely herself around new people because of the persepective that they would take. Pushing past the many bodies was harder than she thought possible, it was even harder for Rue who was just over half of Lauren's hight, the people were tightly compacted like the particles in a solid object and couldn't move an inch. Eventually, Lauren stepped out into a small clearing and spotted her blond-haired best friend, Alex was speaking to Skye. They already looked pretty similar but under the flashing lights and many shadows, they could've been mistaken for twins. Making their way over, Rue and Lauren grabbed a plastic cup each from the long, polished table situated on the platform and were soon standing in a group with Alex and Skye. "...She's a complete bitch, I'll tell you, if Lauren hadn't of been there I would've had it out with her..." Lauren rolled her eyes at the dramtic tone Alex's voice had taken, she was, by far, the biggest gossiper in the whole school and making stories more dramtic and exciting was second nature to her. By the way she was telling it, you would've thought that Alex had gone to punch Marlene or that they'd had this massive fight, in which both of them had to be restrained but that was laughable. After all, they'd thrown a few trivial insults and, to be honest, they were particuarly insulting, just a mix of crude words and phrases. Even though Lauren loved Alex like a sister, she could get very annoyed, very quickly with her when she was telling one of her 'stories'. The worst thing was, people like Skye would hang on her every word, her blue eyes were watching Alex's plump lips form every syllable, she looked like a student in their favoruite class, etching every word and detail into their brain, trying desperatly to absorbe everything. Alex added details, most people did when passing on information, they can't help it. It's human nature to make a story more exciting by adding a few white lies, a few extra details but Lauren thought that Alex could win a medal. She had managed to wind herself up, the good mood that had come from talking to Alice evaporated instantly and suddenly, everything seemed crappy again. Scowling, Lauren lifted the white, plastic up to her dry, chapped lips and drained the entire contents in one, which wasn't hard since it was barely half full and a tiny cup at that. The butterbeer warmed her mouth and throat as it slid down and took away some of the irritation that she felt towards Alex. But it seemed that karma was really out to get her tonight. Flicking her eyes across the vast crowd, Lauren spotted Marlene again, her meretricious, corral dress was hard to miss in a sea of elegant, expensive material, and she was locked in a strong kiss with none other than Sirius Black. Lauren's aquamarine eyes started to sting, they danced over the couple for a second but the sight was too much to take. Only now could Lauren really empathise with Alex. Turning her back to them, Lauren mutted some excuse to an negligent Alex, Rue and Skye and started towards the tall, wooden doors that stretched high above the bobbing heads of the crowd, like a sky scraper in a teeming city. Elbowing people, pushing past, muttering apolgies, Lauren felt as though her throat was closing up, everything towered over her and clostrophobia was setting in. She was spat into the entrance hall, the pink marble gleemed as much as ever, but Lauren was soothed by the open space, the light thumps of music, the normal lighting and the air that wasn't poisoned with the stench of sweat. She crossed the vast space and perched on one of the hard, marble steps, her head falling into her hands. The step bore no comfort for her bum, her stomach was already being cut into by the unforgiving material of her skirt and the only benefit was the cool feeling that was creeping up from her bottom. Her brain wouldn't stop showing her the sight of them, him and her, the word was spat like posion in her head, and there were her insecurites again, whispering into her ear. 'You're not pretty enough for him. You're not skinny enough. Why would he like you? A pathetic little miss know-it-all. A bookworm.' The voice dripped with bitterness, with repugnance and, even though Lauren knew that it was figment of her imagination, brought up from the depths of her sub consious, she believed it. Proof of this was that she imagined the voice took the shape of a monster she'd read about when she was younger, a small, nine year old Lauren was readind one of her favourite fairy tales, it was called 'The Wizard Who Wished'. It was about a young wizard who was home for the summer, he felt all alone because he didn't have any brothers or sisters and one night, just before bed, he wished that the characters from his favourite book would come alive and be his friends. The story went that they indeed did and he had all the friends he could ever wish for but he brought everything from the book alive, including a terrible demon that lived under your bed. He had peircing yellow eyes like torches, blood dripped constantly from his fanged mouth, he walked on all fours like a wolf but his voice was all too human. At night he wouldf whisper your greatest fears to you and cause horrible nightmares, it said that you'd be plagued forever. But, as all good fairy tales went, they teamed up, defeated the moster and lived hapily ever after. Even though Lauren knew it was a silly little kids story the monster seemed all too real, she thought of him as imagination in a form. Like at night when your imgaination would fabricate monsters from films or books coming to get you, when your imagination asks you what that nose was, what if the ghost from a story designed to scare childen came and haunted you. To her, the demon was her imagination that had taken a form. The demon with it's eerie yellow eyes and sharp fangs played on her insecurites and tell her them. 'As if I didn't know them already' she thought. The sound of light footsteps echoed through the entrance hall, bouncing off the marble walls, Lauren didn't bother to look up, the person would pass and she'd be alone one more. But she heard the echoing steps stop, the stranger had become completely silent and then the stair next to her creaked. Lauren's head shot up, she didn't know what to expect but the sight that greeted her definetly wasn't it. A boy in a plain, black t-shirt and jeans was sat next to her, his long, greasy hair framed his waxen face and his ebony eyes were like black holes but without any emotion behind the glassy lenses. Lauren recognised him straight away but he didn't frighten her, she wasn't intimidated or weary, she was just okay. Just okay. He pulled his pale, greasy face into a smile but it didn't touch his eyes, they stayed dead and vacant, the mirror of a dead persons. Lauren wiped her aquamarine eyes and pink cheeks, they felt damp but she couldn't remember beginning to cry. From the grand hall Lauren could hear a song blasting out, it was different from the rest, less thumping more guitars. It must've been a muggle song because she didn't recognise any of the lyrics, it was like a different language. Once apon a time, a few mistakes ago I was in your sights, you got me alone. You found me, you found me, you found me. I guess you didn't care and I guess I liked that. And when I fell hard, you took a step back. Without me, without me, without me. And he's long gone when he's next to me and I realise the blame is on me. Coz I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me now. Blew me to places I've never been, til you put me down. I knew you were trouble when you walked in...  
Lauren tried to rememeber where she'd heard this song before but it was like trying to remember a dream, like trying to grope the air. "Hey, er, I was wondering if you were, you know, okay?" The greasy boy asked, tucking strands of ebony hair behind his pale ear and smiling again. His cheeks flashed pink for just a second but his composure and expressionless mask was back on instantly. Lauren wondered whether he'd heard her crying, the crying she couldn't rememeber, maybe he pitied her, maybe he saw her as weak. These thoughts repulsed her, Lauren couldn't stand that he saw her as nothing more than a weak and vulnerable girl who was crying over some guy, that wasn't even her boyfriend, kissing some girl. It seemed pathetic to her. So, Lauren forced her most convinving and friendly smile into place, it almost physically hurt to smile like this when she felt so crap but she indured it, and made the emotion spread across her whole face. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine thank you," Lauren replied, she hated how soft and frail her voice sounded, like a thin string that could snap any moment, sending her into a void of emotion,"It's just a bit too loud in there." She pointed towards the open, wooden doors and smiled again. Feeling self consious, Lauren tugged at her skirt subtly, if he saw he might be offended, he might think that she was accusing him of something and the last thing she wanted was to hurt someone who was being generally polite. But she needent of worried because the stranger was staring towards the party, a spark of longing in his dead eyes. It was clear to Lauren that he was an outcast of the crowds in there and a wave of compassion crashed over her. Maybe she didn't understand exactly but she could empathise pretty well and use her imagination to feel how miserable that must be. "Yeah, I can appreciate that." He clearly didn't believe her but Lauren took an instant liking to him for not pressing the subject, she couldn't see why everyone complained about how malicious and hostile he was. Maybe a little anti-social but not hostile and certainly not malicious. People like Malfoy were malicious, people who bully others mercilessly, who don't feel any consence to how they're treating people, not some lonely guy who doesn't have many friends. "You're Snape, right?" She asked, her voice like someone trying out a step to see if it's sturdy. He gave a curt nod, Snape was certain that, just like everyone else, she would leave as soon as she knew. But Lauren stayed put. There was no point being rude to a name, in any other situation that would be stupid and considered absoluetly insane."Your first names Severus. I know what it's like to have a strange first name, not that yours is a bad strange," She'd added hastily, scared that she would irritate or offend him."My parents named me Ebony, I hated it straight away, still do but I'm warming to it slowly. If the right person calls me it, than I can live with it but if it's someone I don't like I'll probably scream and shout." Lauren had drifted off, she was lost in her own thought process and was speaking more to herself then to the boy sitting next to her."Amazing, isn't it? The power that a name can hold. It can make you scream, cry, laugh, shout, throw a tantrum, smile or it can make you afraid. But what's the point in being scared of a name? It's just letters, just syllables, just a name." A sigh shortly followed, Lauren had just told a complete stranger her real name, one that she had never talked to before, one who was friends with Malfoy, and he'd love to learn her real name, it be like Christmas had come early. That you never loved me, or her, or anyone, or anything. Yeaaaahhhh. I knew you were trouble when you walked in.  
"What's this song? Is it muggle?" Lauren asked, her curiosity lighting up like a dwindling flame being re-ignited. The lyrics seemed to describe her present situation, it was almost as if it was fait but Lauren didn't believe in fait or destiny or anything like that. It was just a coincidence, one of those strange things the universe did because the wind was blowing a certain way, because someone smiled, because something was won. She shifted as the end of the step cut into her back, hoisting herself up and leaning against the back of the step. The lyrics seemed to flood her mind, engraving into her brain, running around her brain just like the thumping of the other music did. "Yeah, It's by some muggle woman called Taylor Swift," Lauren shot him a palyful skeptical look and he laughed, a gruff, deep laugh."Pansy told me. It's called," he snapped his fingers, thinking,"I knew you were trouble. That's the one." Lauren almost scoffed at that, why was the universe toying with her, first Karma and now fait. What else could happen? She stopped herself just in time, cleared her throat and let her gaze fall upon the party once more. She had really started to like this Snape boy, if he just showed this side to everyone then he'd change their perspective completely. Lauren considered telling him this but it sounded offensive whatever way she put it, so she kept her mouth firmly closed and continued to search the crowds for Alex, knowing Rue would be too small to be able to pick out. "I hate parties," Snape commented, the animus in his voice was as sharp as a knife and cut through the other emotions just the same. His face contorted into a scowl as if he was hating the concept of them instead of the actual party that was being thrown here, tonight."All the dancing, the drunk people, the loud music, the flashing lights. Honestly, those lights, they'll make someone have an epeleptic fit, they will." Lauren chuckled lightly at this, Snape smiled at her and continued."The thing I hate most though is the hope." He didn't elaborate and left her feeling very confused as to what he meant. A silence fell apon them, not umcomfortable, not awkward, just natural silence. Each waiting for the other to proceed, when Severus didn't explain what he meant, Lauren asked. "What do you mean?" She asked, trying to keep the curiousity and eagerness out of her voice. She achieved this because Snape stretched, his t-shirt clinging to his chest, Lauren averted her eyes, shrugged his shoulders and pushed his greasy, black hair out of his cold, dead eyes. Lauren hadn't realised that she was holding her breath until her body demanded for oxygen, shouting at her to release the breath she'd been holding and to breath normally again. With her heart thudding painfully in her chest, Lauren took deep, steadying breaths to be able to breath normally again. "Well, let's start with the hope in the build up," Snape sighed and re-positioned himself on the smooth, marble step."They always hope it's going to be a success, with streaming banners, great food, loud music and all the rest but it normally doesn't reach expectations. Parties are normally not as good as everything thinks and they're let down. The hope of the presents, I don't care whtever anyone says, they always expect to get great gifts, to hope, and their expectations are ususally not met. The hope of the crowds, normally around half of the people invited don't turn up, the hope that everyone whose been invited turning up, more hope dashed. And lastly, the worst hope, hope of relationships. People kiss at parties, among other things, and some people expect there to be a relationship after but there won't be. It was either a drunken kiss or a kiss of oppertunity. More hope dashed. Parties are built on hope and I despise the way that the hope is always countered, always wrong somehow, always repremanded. Always." Lauren admired the way that, like Alex, Snape could see things for how they were, both of them could look past the lies, the hope, the facades, everything. It was a gift that Lauren wished she could have. All though what Snape was saying, she found herself liking his boy more and more, admiring him for how hardly anyone liked him, how he shrugged it off, how polite and caring he was, but how could no one of know he was like this? Lauren found herself somehow knowing that he would grow up to be someone hated, someone despised, someone who no one really knew. And it pained her. "Yeah, I wasn't though. I've been dreading this party since it was announced, I guess our hate of parties is something we have in common." A smile flitted across both their faces,"As for kissing someone," Lauren made a face, a compromise between a grimace and a frown,"I don't think that's ever gonna happen. But it's not that, it's the fact that everyone around me..." She trailed off, it seemed pointless to moan about it. If she didn't want Sirius to snog other girls than she should just admit how she felt, it would easy, a quick rejection, a broken friendship, a few tears. But she wasn't brave, that wasn't one of her house traits, Lauren hated talking about house qualities and all that rubbish but on this occasion, she could cope with it, she was sly and cunning, not a brave Gryffindor, an evil Slytherin. 'The cursed house' her father had once said, he was joking of course, but she couldn't help but wonder whether they was some truth beneath the lies. Maybe they were evil, it wouldn't of started out that way but what if through the generations people got gradually more evil until they came to this, Slytherins shunted out by others because they might use an unforgivable or call their best friend a blood traitor or a mudblood. Maybe they were cursed with being evil. Lauren almost laughed out loud at that. "I understand," Snape said, it was the first time he'd shown some emotion, it was the first time he'd shown he possessed feelings."More than you think. We're quite similiar you and me, I know that's degrading you some what but hear me out, we can both see things others can't, we see the futile relationships, the lies, seperating the gossip from the truth. We both understand. That's the crucial point, the understanding." Lauren felt her head moving slightly, she was nodding along to what he was saying because he was right; they both understood each other, more than anyone else, they could both see it in the others expressions. Even though, on the outside, they seemed like complete opposites, they could see the qualities they both possessed, the things that linked them. Lauren never thought someone would tell her she was like Severus Snape, and she definetly never thought she would take it as a compliment because the thing they shared was that they both understood people, they both knew, they both could empathise. "You know, the party's still going on in there," Lauren cocked her head towards the entrance and smiled,"We could go back in, no one would notice, the ammount of people coming in and out of there. It's not as if anyones keeping a register." Her smiled had reached her teal eyes and they were twinkling like stars,"We could conquer out hatred of parties. Together?" Something flickered in Snapes dead eyes, like a flame being blown by the wind, something like amusement, happiness. Whatever it was, it was a positive emotion. A smile was creeping up his waxy face, Lauren returned it and nodded towards the doors. "Nah, they're stupid." Snape said not unkindly and still smiling but there was true meaning behind what he said."All Gryffindors are. Especially those marauders, they're cocky, arrogant bastards, especially Potter and Black, thinking they own the school." His voice was full of nothing but hatred. The way he spat out their names made goosebumps run down her arms, Lauren wondered how Snape could hate them so much, how he could say their names like he was convicting them of murder. Lauren knew that Sirius and James liked to tease Snape but maybe it was more than that, maybe they bullied him? She felt nauseated by the idea that they had driven Snape to the point where he'd broken his friendship with Lily and ran to the Slytherin's that were actually evil. That it was their fault. "What about Lily?" Lauren's voice was barely above a whisper, she didn't know how he'd react to the mention of her name. She understood the love that Snape felt for her, she saw it burning in his dull eyes, behind the mask.  
"She's stupid for getting involved with those bastards, with those bullies." He shot back, again, it wasn't unkind but his voice confirmed her suspicions that Snape truly hated the marauders, especially James and Sirius, for what they did to him. For what they've said, for all the torments, for all the insults, the embarassment, for the unnessccary humilation, for their own entertainment. There it was again, the compassion Lauren felt, the resentment she felt towards James and Sirius, all she could think was that a boy aged fourteen/fifteen shouldn't of experience the feeling of hate that strong. At that age people said the word hate without really thinking what it meant, without considering but this was proper hate. And they both knew it. Lauren stood up, pulled at the stiff fabric of her skirt and stretched, relieved to be off of that hard, cold step. "Are you coming?" She asked him, pointing towards the worn doors and where the thump of the music was emitting from. She decided not to sit and mope about lost love with Snape, Lauren wanted to at least try and enjoy the party, after all she'd made the effort of coming here. Snape shook his head sharply, stood up and headed in the opposite direction. Lauren had wanted to ask him where he was going but he was a quick blur and it was as if they'd never talked, as if he was just a passer by. But one thing was sure, Severus Snape would never forget the conversation they'd had that night. She re-entered the grand hall, it was exactly like before, people were dancing, kissing, chatting, and Lauren walked over to where she could see Alex talking to Skye, as though she hadn't left. "...I can't believe Marlene did that..." Lauren had a feeling she knew exactly what they were talking about before she'd even approached them properly but she let the grimace flash across her face and then set her features into a smile. "Lauren!" Alex squeeled, grabbing her wrist and yanking her to where Skye and the latter where huddled a few seconds ago. She tried to keep the smile in place and act like she had no idea what her best friend was talking about."You'll never guess what Marlene did!" Lauren's insides squirmed as her fears were confirmed, dread filled every part of her body but the smile stayed in place as she tried to look curious but not expectant. The lights flashed in front of her eyes again, making her feel slightly sick and dizzy. Lauren grabbed a plastic, white cup off of the glossy table and prepared for the news Alex was going to deliver. "What? What have I missed?" Lauren asked, trying to inject a certain urgency and eagerness into her voice. It obviously worked because Alex didn't say anything for a few agonising moments, but they were agonising for another reason than Alex assumed, she was almost jumping up and down with excitement. The gold shiffon was swirling around her ankles like a halo had slid down her body, her make-up and hair was still as perfect as when she did it hours before and her blond hair fell in soft curls, kissing her shoulders as it fell. Skye was mirroring Alex's excitement, it made them look even more alike, her pin-prick hair fell in the same way, touching her arms. "Marlene only went and kissed Sirius Black!" Lauren gasped, she made it somehwere inbetween dramatic and bored but it worked because Alex was interupting her 'surprise' with gasps of 'hold up' or 'this is the best bit. Lauren opened her teal eyes more to show that she was eager to learn the 'best bit' of the story."He then pushes her away, tells her he's not interested and walks off! Leaving her in the middle of the dance floor alone!" Alex had actually jumped up during the telling, her voice went higher with antisipation, her blond hair had bounced off her shoulders and fallen in the exact same way as before. But Lauren was too shocked to be envious of her best friends perfection. He hadn't kissed Marlene after all, she'd kissed him and Sirius had told her he wasn't interested. Lauren felt a volcanoe of happiness erupt from within her as these thoughts processed; he didn't want Marlene. In a mix of happiness and embaressment, she'd forgotten she was talking to people and Alex was watching her with a hunrgy glint in her eyes, a hunger for reactions, for being the first one to enlighten Lauren on the news. That was what Alex thrived for, to be the first, to deliver the news. "What?" Lauren replied, sure that she had heard Alex wrong. This was clearly enough for Alex because she launched into the whole story. But she was still getting over the shock that Sirius had turned her down; when you offer a teenage guy yourself on a plate, they never say no. Lauren knew this, every girl knew this, they'd take what they could get and drop her when they were finished. Guys didn't turn down the sluts that were willing to do anything, they never did. "Marlene wouldn't leave him alone, like today she was all over him and apparently Sirius kept telling her to f off but she wouldn't. Clingy much? She kept trying to sit on his lap all through lessons today, she would attempt to flirt with him but however many times he told her he wasn't interested she wouldn't take any notice. So, she came here with a motive, she'd planned to kiss him here and then had some weird delluision that they'd ride off into the sunset together or some shit. Anyway, Marlene sort of grabbed his collar and kissed him, in the middle of the dance floor. He didn't kiss back. Sirius pushed her off him, it was sweet of him actually because it was a light push, but then he told her he wasn't interested, again, he was sweet about it, and walked away. The best part though was when she was left in the middle of the dance floor all by her lonesome! I can't believe he was that sweet about it though! To be honest, you've got to admire his patients! Someone should make him a saint! Marlene then ran out of the hall and is probably crying somewhere in a toilet, but no one followed her. I mean, Lily ran after her but I think Alice assumed it would happen. Did you see her in potions though? Merlin! She was pratically lying across the table, I can't believe she kissed Sirius though! What a slut! No one wants to be involved with her now. If you ask me she deserves everything she gets." Lauren couldn't help the smile that was creeping up her face, the way that Alex was talking about it all, half of it was most definetly made up but she didn't care at that moment, she was just glad that Sirius hadn't kissed anyone. With all the excitement of Alex's story, Lauren had forgotten to have the drink she'd picked up earlier, she was clutching at it. Lifting the cup up, Lauren felt the soft plastic touch her dry lips and drained the cup in one. Spinning her head around, Lauren searched for her other best friend who the news probably hadn't reached yet, Rue had never really cared for gossip, she assumed that Rue had just tolerated it for Alex's sake. Lauren could've sworn...She saw...the corner of her eye. And the smile stretched. Alex took this as a sign to go on. "It's gonna be really awkward though, I mean they're in the same house and everything! I think that Sirius was right to push her away though, who wants a slut for a girlfriend? I still can't believe she kissed him, she forced herself on him, doesn't that count as rape? Maybe I should spread the word, apparently she's not just a slut anymore but a rapist too. Don't you think?" Alex paused for Lauren's imput, her fair eyebrows raised expectantly, her nude lips were pursed. Alex would most definetly spread the word that Marlene was a rapist whatever Lauren said to her, after everything that she'd done, broken up the best relationship Alex had ever had, she deserved to be called abusive names. Lauren knew this but that wasn't why she'd kept silent because she saw and she could feel and a voice in the back of head was screaming it at her and she knew she saw, she knew it and nothing was going to stop her saying the words she said next. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to evesdrop?" Alex looked at her completely bewildered but the words hadn't been for Alex, Lauren's thoughts were far from ones about rape and Marlene but there was a common factor. Spining around, she saw that her suspciosions were correct and a smile worked its way up her face, making her aquamarine eyes twinkle in the flashing lights. "I think I might've overheard that somewhere," He replied, smirking. Lauren shook her head slightly at him, let out a small chuckle, which he returned with a genuine smile and rolled her eyes over-dramatically so he caught it. Alex still looked confused, snapping her head back and forth from Lauren and whoever she was talking to. Words couldn't express how happy she was to see him standing there, his hand in his back pocket, trying to look effortlessly cool, his stormy eyes trained upon nothing but her, his smirk and smile directed towards Lauren, it made her mind scramble and her stomach flutter uncontrolably. And then Alex saw. And her cheeks turned pink. "But you were talking about me, so surely I have rights?" Sirius walked out of the shadows and over to the three girls, his usual smirk planted firmly on his pale face. He took a place between Lauren and Alex, his arm accidently brushed against hers and the butterflys in her stomach went crazy, she was sure she was going to throw up, in the drim lighting she could see that Alex's cheeks had turned pink and she was downing her drink. Lauren couldn't remember ever being happier to see anyone else than she was right now, seeing him. "Please don't flatter yourself," she replied, rolling her eyes at him,"Alex hates Marlene because she stole her boyfriend, anything Marlene does gets through to her somehow. You just happened to be included in the story." Lauren's eyes caught the light again and twinkled, a sly smile was planted on her thin lips and she was desperatly pulling at the tough material of her skirt. Again, her finger tips went bright red, which violently contrasted with the paleness of her hands. Sirius couldn't explain how much he loved it when her eyes twinkled, it was the physical thing he loved most, they looked exactly like the stars when they did. And then he noticed that she was pulling at the skirt she was wearing and saw the perfect oppertunity to get her attention and tease her, which would mean she'd notice him. "Nice skirt." He commented and smirked, the smirk that Lauren loved so much. Feeling her cheeks heat up, Lauren felt herself give a sigh of relief when she realised that he wouldn't be able to see her blush in the dim lighting. But she felt as though he already knew. "Nice face." Lauren snapped back, he would know that she was only teasing as they had this banter thing where he'd go nice something and she'd always relatiate with nice face. It was how they were. Sirius smirked at the comeback she always used, it was pathetic and how they classed it as a comeback was a mystery to him but that's one of the reasons why he loved her.  
"Why did you reject Marlene?" Alex asked, her cheeks turning pink again. Lauren laughed, a soft, chiming laughter, Alex would be the one to ask the personal questions. Sirius looked slightly taken aback at first, then his smirk was back in place and he ran a pale hand through his silky, black hair, which fell into place perfectly. Him and Lauren exchanged a smile, neither knew what they were smiling at but both felt like there was something more behind the friendly gesture, something they were both trying to say. Both dismissed the stupid thought, how could there be anything more to a friendly smile? "Because I don't want AIDS." Sirius shrugged, smirking as he said it. Alex started laughing, Sirius joined in a little while later but Lauren hit him on the arm and frowned at the giggling couple. Pouting, Sirius rubbed the area where her slap had targeted, he was secretly impressed by how strong she was but that was extinguished by the pain radiating from his arm. Alex countinued to laugh while Sirius was trying to stop himself but it didn't work and he and Alex burst out laughing again. "What?" Alex gasped between laughs,"You honestly can't feel sorry for her?" Lauren sighed, she did feel sympathy for Marlene. Even though she was a bitch and a slut and all the other crude words people used to describe her, she couldn't help it. All Marlene wanted was attention, even an idiot could see that, maybe she was tired of being the girl who got looked over, maybe she was fed up with having two pretty best friends and being ignored, maybe that's what drove her to it. Attention. Lily and Alice got all the attention from the boys, maybe Marlene felt as though she was the odd one out, the ugly one, the one who no one looked twice at. Lauren could relate to Marlene, that could've been Lauren if she was that eager for attention, it could've been anyone who wanted attention, who wanted to be noticed, who was tired of being ignored. The reality was; it could've been any one of them. "I do though," Lauren sighed, knowing they wouldn't understand. They both got all the attention they wanted, Alex was a very pretty girl, boys were chasing after her constantly, she would have no clue what it felt like to be the ugly one. The same with Sirius, girls constantly chased after him, they dobbed him 'the hottest guy in Hogwarts', and maybe he was, but the point was they wouldn't understand, so they couldn't sympathise. But Lauren could and she did. Lauren understood. "She stole my boyfriend if you remember!" Alex exclaimed, she'd obviously had a bit too much to drink because she had started getting very giggly and she would never have spoken openly about the break up if she was sober. Lauren shot a worried glance at Sirius, who caught it. He grabbed a plastic chair from the nearest table and instructed Alex to sit down, plucking her cup from her hands as he did so. Alex pulled of her leather sandles and massaged her feet, complaining about the blisters she was going to get. Glancing around, quite a few people were drunk and a couple were throwing up, the stench was unbareable. Lauren spotted Pansy kissing some guy, she didn't recognise him from first glance and had no desire to look back, Annabeth was one of the people being sick and it looked like Blaise was holding her hair back while she was reatching into a plastic bucket. Rue was still no where to be seen and it looked like all the guys were drunk. Marlene was sitting alone in a corner, she was drowning her sorrows with a liquid that didn't resemble butterbeer at all, it was clear and way too runny. Lauren was just about to set off towards her, when someone grabbed her wrist, holding it in a inescapeable grip. Twirling around, Lauren came face to face with Sirius Black, he looked stern and, no matter how much she struggled, he wouldn't let her hand go, she scowled towards him and yanked her hand one more time, she knew it was futile. "Let me go, Sirius! She's sitting all alone and I don't know what she's drinking but-"  
"Vodka. She's drinking vodka. And she doesn't deserve your sympathy, so why are you insistent on giving it?" He asked, narrowing his stormy eyes. Lauren tugged her arm again, if anything his grip was getting tighter all the time she struggled, she was still scowling at him.  
"Because, because I understand! Okay? I understand! She just wanted attention, that's why she became a slut! All she wanted was the attention that her friends got! I don't expect you to understand!" Lauren shouted, struggling against his grip. Sirius' expression didn't change, he kept looking stern like a teacher who was about to give you a detention and he wouldn't let her wrist go. "You don't have to be nice to everyone, you know?" He asked her, his voice level and calm while she was shouting her head off for him to let go, not that it came out any louder than a whisper with the thumping of the music ringing around them. "Who else is gonna go and talk to her?" She countered, her voice took an almost pleading tone and she hated herself for that. But she had to talk to her, to reassure her that she knew how she felt. She had to. It was in her nature. "Alice or Lily will! She's not your problem, Lauren. Neither is Snape." He'd added the last part so quietly she'd almost missed it. Almost. And reality came crashing over her like a stormy wave. "Did you spy on me?" Lauren accused, she'd forgotten all about Marlene at that moment and was focused purley on the fact that he'd followed her and what he'd overheard. Sirius' cheeks flushed pink, he wouldn't meet her piecing gaze and he released her hand from his grip. Lauren rubbed her pale wrist that had now turned violent red but didn't shift her gaze. "You didn't defend me or James or Remus or Peter when he called us bastards, you didn't argue when he said me and James were cocky or arrogant or you didn't argue when he said we thought we owned the school, you didn't counter him when he called Gryffindor House stupid." His tone was what shocked Lauren the most, it was bitter, resentment oozed from it, it was accusing. Her eyes began to sting but she bit back the tears, all she could think was 'not now please, not infront of him, don't please'. Then suddenly an awful retching noise disturbed the eerie silence between them and a sickening smell seemed to engulf them. Neither looked away. They were staring directly into each others eyes aquamarine into stormy grey. Then, her voice barely above a whisper, Lauren formed two words. Just two. And those two words managed to fix everything between them. The most important two words ever. "I'm sorry." "We should probably fix Alex up, I think she was just sick." Sirius said, his old smirk back in place. Both of them turned at the same time, Alex was limp in her chair, her body hanging off to the right, the wooden floor under the chair was covered with yellowy-brown sick and her head was hanging limp onto her chest. Alex was lucky she'd tucked her legs up on the plastic chair, her sandle weren't that fortunate. People all around were being sick, some were fortunate enough to have a plastic bucket, some weren't, some had completely collapsed, some were semi-consious, in essence; it wasn't looking good for future parties at Hogwarts. Lauren rushed over to Alex's side, she had no choice but to kneel in the fresh sick but she didn't care. Grabbing tissues from a near by table, where another student was using them to mop up his friend, who was retching on the floor, Lauren moped around Alex's mouth. Her head lolled onto the back of the chair, an incoherant noise came out, it was more of a gurgle, and she vomited again. Jumping out of the way, Lauren was only sprayed with flecks of sick rather than the whole wave, which she was immensly greatful for. And again, she was right by Alex's side, moping her face again, kneeling in sick. It amazed Sirius how dedicated she was to her friends, he probably wouldn't kneel in sick for Remus, definetly not for Peter, he was just annoying, maybe but only maybe for James. But he would for her. He smiled to himself, Sirius told himself that he'd tell her that one day; 'I'd kneel in sick for you'. "Padfoot!" James came running towards him and Lauren, skirting past the people being sick, jumping over vomit, real worry planted on his face. Lauren didn't look up though, she had bigger problems then whatever he and his friends had planned for thier next prank. She moped down her dress, the shiffon had caught chunks of sick and it replused Lauren but she removed them, she cleaned her leather sandles but feared they'd have to be thrown away and moped Alex's mouth once more. Standing up, Lauren grimaced as sick ran down her legs, the stench was horrible, like a mix of rotten eggs and a really bad fart, that thought made her smile though but that evaporated as she realised a lot of people were vomiting. Sirius, Remus, James and Peter had gathered together, James had run first and the others had followed, how it always was, they were looking around helplessly, Lily was helping Alice who was vomiting he'd told his fellow marauders upon his arrival but Lauren hadn't noticed them. A single, white plastic cup was placed on a table draped in gold cloth right next to Alex, assuming it was hers, Lauren picked it up. The liquid that was swimming around in the cup didn't look like butterbeer; it was clear and stunk worse than the sick. Knowing she would regret it, Lauren slowly lifted the cup to her lips, unaware that she was being watched by the marauders, and the liquid flew into her mouth. She spat it out as soon as it had touched her tongue, but a couple of drips trickled down her throat. At first, Lauren thought it was acid, it had the properties, the burning, people vomiting but most acids killed, this one just made people sick and then it clicked in her head. She walked towards the four figures watching her, Lauren's eyebrows were knitted together in thought. "Sirius, you said that Marlene was drinking vodka, right?" Lauren asked, her voice urgent. He nodded in reply, not trusting his voice since she was really close and their arms had brushed a couple of times. She 'mmmed' to this, casting her teal eyes around the hall, fourteen, maybe fifteen people were vomiting and it really wasn't a pretty sight. Sirius kicked himself internally, he was acting like a stupid school girl who'd met the member of their favourite band, but her hair was so silky and her eyes were beautiful, how they twinkled. Then he was actually kicked. Sirius frowned at the smirking face of his best friend, James, and snapped himself out of his thoughts. "Wait. Why does it matter if Marlene was drinking vodka?" Sirius asked Lauren, ignoring the consant poking that he assumed James was doing. Lauren rolled her eyes, sighed and changed her voice to one that you'd talk to a three year old in. It was slow, sarcastic and patronizing but he didn't care, she looked pretty whether she was scowling at him or laughing. "Butterbeer doesn't do this, it's, what five percent alochol?" She didn't wait for an answer."People are drinking vodka straight." Lauren put up her hands in a weighing motion, mimicking a pair of old scales."Straight vodka or butterbeer with five percent alcohol." She rushed over to Alex who vomited again, moping her face and kneeling in the sick that was swimming around the base of the plastic chair. The party had well and truly ended, James had left to help Lily with Alice, in the end he'd carried Alice to their common room, with Peter in close persuit, that made Lauren smile. Pansy had been assisted to their common room by the Hufflepuff she'd been kissing, he recieved a less than friendly goodbye from the Slytherin boys, Annabeth had been assisted by Blaise, he'd tied her hair back and had a reassuring arm around her shoulders, Rue was still nowhere to be seen, a few others had been carried out by people of their house. It meant that the only people who were still there were three Ravenclaws, if they'd got drunk it must've been strong, one lost looking Hufflepuff, Remus and Sirius were the only Gryffindors and Lauren and Alex were the only Slytherins. Lauren broke off from Alex, who was still vomiting and sitting in the plastic chair, and was standing in the middle of the room, her wand drawn. She pointed it towards the centre of the room, muttered, "mundatis", and flicked her wand around the whole room. The sick that hadn't been cleaned up appeared to be cleaning itself up, like an implosion, the streamers were falling to the ground and scrunching themselves up, the gold cloths on the tables bundled together, the lights stopped flashing, the music stopped pounding and the speakers disappeared, the drinks and food vanished, leaving no trace, and lastly, the plastic chairs stacked themselves up and disappeared to the kitchens underneath. Rushing back to Alex, Lauren wiped her mouth once more and threw the tissue away. The only people that remained were Sirius, Lauren, Alex and Remus, Lauren stepped back and cocked her head to the side, as though studying Alex.  
"What are you thinking?" Sirius asked, knowing her expression too well. "Whether Alex'll be able to walk, she looks like she's dead to the world." Lauren answered, not lifting her gaze. "Do you want us to-"  
"No. Thank you. I can manage." Lauren cut across Sirius, feeling exhusted, she really did want this party to end. "Well, see you tomorrow then." Sirius said, slightly hurt by the way that she'd snapped at him, all he'd wanted to do was help. "Yeah, see you Lauren." "See you guys." Lauren had to pratically drag Alex along the freezing dungeons, she kept having to stop because Alex would need to throw up, but eventually Lauren and two sixth years who were still awake had carried Alex to their dorm and gotten her dressed and into bed. Rue was fast asleep in her own bed, Alex was dead to the world, Pansy was snoring and Annabeth was asleep, with Blaise's hoodie draped over her. Even though she was exhuasted, Lauren had to shower, she was covered in Alex's sick and a really bad smell was radiating off of her, whether it was her or the clothes she didn't know and had no desire to find out. Finally, at two in the morning, Lauren was showered and climbed into bed. That nights sleep was very welcomed.

CHAPTER 46: HANGOVERS

Crimson light was pouring into their dorm, it must've been around six when Lauren woke up and, for as long as she could remember, for once, it wasn't to Alex's shouts. The warm rays of the citrine sun gave her the strength to shove the warm, cosy covers off of her tired, restless body and climb out of bed. Pulling on her uniform, Lauren assumed that the rest of her dorm would be off from school 'sick', it felt oddly lonely and quiet getting dressed alone and that feeling didn't go when she was packing her bag for the day ahead. Normally, Alex was complaining about their lessons, Rue was telling her to hurry up, Pansy and Annabeth were stiring or shouting for them to shut up, there was always some source of noise but today there was nothing but silence to greet Lauren. Just before she left, Lauren shook Alex and Rue but neither stirred, so she left the hungover girls to sleep and make her way to breakfast alone, hoping that this would be the first and last time she had to do this. Pulling her cloak tighter, she ventured down the cold, dark dungeons that were terrifying when you were alone, she remembered the last time she had and was crapping her pants the entire way, jumping at the sound of her own breathing. But if she thought that being the only one in her dorm going to school was weird, that was nothing compared to the shock she got when she arrived at the grand hall. One fourth year boy was sitting alone at the Hufflepuff table, two fourth year girls, Cho and Scarlette and one fourth year boy, Dean, much to Lauren's displeasure, were sitting at the Ravenclaw table, the marauders and Lily were the only ones in Lauren's year sitting at the Gryffindor table and Malfoy and Snape were the only fourth years at the Slytherin table. Even though it was only one year absent, it had a massive impact on the four tables, mainly that it was considerably quieter. Lauren sat in her usual place at the emerald table and she felt vulnerable without Alex on her other side, like Alex and Regulus formed some sort of human shield and without Alex the shield was broken and Lauren was vulnerable. "Heard there was some big party and that's why loads of fourth years aren't here, is that right?" Regulus asked, spooning baked beans on his golden plate and glancing around at the many empty spaces at the four house tables. Barty had craned his neck to listen in to, apparently the whereabouts of most of the fourth years was some big story, shame Alex wasn't there to tell it. "Yeah, they got drunk and now have massive hangovers," Lauren shrugged as if it were nothing but the day ahead felt daunting. She would have to walk alone to class, which she could cope with, but taking the actual lessons alone would be like her own personal torture and she dreaded every minute she'd have to spend by herself. Not feeling like eating, Lauren just drank the pumpkin juice in her golden goblet and left the foods well alone, she didn't think her stomach would be able to settle since she got vomited on last night. "That means you'll have to walk to lessons with Snape and Malfoy." Regulus commented, grimacing as he said it and sending them dirty looks. Lauren considered this, she came to the conclusion that she'd rather be alone than have to spend the day with them, Snape she wouldn't be able to talk to because of last night, the guilt still weighed on her chest about not saying anything to defend her friends, and spending the day with Malfoy was unthinkable and she'd much prefer to be alone. "Nah, I'll just walk around on my own. I don't mind too much," Lauren answered, shrugging. The lie was more for their benefit then hers, she didn't want either Regulus or Barty to worry about her but she couldn't lie to herself, she didn't want to spend the day alone with Malfoy and Snape for company. Both of her best friends sent her skeptical looks and it was clear that they didn't believe her, it was a weak lie at best. But they didn't question her any further and as the bell went to indicate the end of breakfast, Lauren set off to History of Magic class alone.

The silent walk to her first class seemed to have tripled in length since she had to take it alone, the corridors seemed to wind more, the staircases seemed to elongate and the crowds seemed to have become more dense, making it almost impossible to push past the huge groups that had assembled. Lauren clutched to the strap of her material, olivine bag for comfort as she walked, the rough feel of the material seemed to make the journey a little more bareable and the random bumps of the material that had worn gave her hands something to do, rather than laying limp by her side. Sighing, she turned the next corner and found that the usual queue that gathered outside their classroom was considerably shorter than normal, Snape and Malfoy being the only people, they were lined up against the smooth, marble wall. Grimacing internally, Lauren lifted her head, lowered her shoulders and strode to the back of the queue, consequently standing next to Malfoy. Scowling at him, she felt her hands dancing over one another and tried to glance anywhere that wasn't the two boys in her house. Lauren was hoping to hope that she wouldn't have to wait here long, the awkward silence that had fallen between the three students seemed to isolate them from the other, rowdy students at the end of the corridor, it was as if they were sealed off in an invisible bubble from the rest of the boisterous school. The familair sound of the heavy, ligneous door was like a saving grace and a sign of relief escaped her lips. Professor Dombey raised his ghostly, translucent eyebrows at the minute class, a pair of rectangular glasses were perched on his equally bloodless nose, the thin, metal chain was the same ghostly white as the rest of him and the glass didn't reflect the streams of golden light that was pouring through the stretched, square windows. Smiling at their teacher, Lauren strode across the swealtering classroom, a wave of heat hitting her like a slap round the face, and approached her desk. The squat, metal chair was blistering hot like the classroom and was just about bareable to sit down on, how anyone could study in here was beyond Lauren. She didn't bother to take out her things as Professor Dombey floated to the front of the class and cast his colourless eyes over the three students, he didn't look very hopeful about the lesson that was about to pass. "Do you know how many students there are attending lessons today in your year?" He asked, pushing his almost transparent glasses up on his pale nose and shooting his lifeless eyes towards the door of the class, his expression was impossible to read. Professor Dombey floated slightly forwards, his eyes not leaving the door, and changed his expression to one that appeared, to some extent, to be boredom. Lauren's pale arm shot right up, her twinkling, teal eyes fixed on her teacher. He gave a tiny nod to signal that she could say whatever she was going to and pushed his glasses forwards again, they seemed to be drooping with every second that passed, sliding down his nose marginally. Smiling at him, Lauren lowered her hand, pulling her robe sleve back down, and answered. "There's five from Gryffindor, two from Ravenclaw, only one from Hufflepuff and the three of us." Her teachers ghostly eyebrows shot up again, his expression changing from bored to a mix of shock and knowing, like he'd expect only a few students but he hadn't expected a number that small. Lauren smiled at him after she'd answered and sunk lower on her blazing, metal stool. Suddenly, the thick, wooden door burst open, five figures appeared in the doorway, all of them looking negligent to the fact that they were late and the glare that Professor Dombey was sending them. Lily skirted through the boys, her crimson hair flying out behind her, she smiled apologetically at her teacher and hurried to her seat. Remus followed her lead, muttering 'sorry' as he passed their professor and took his seat, Peter didn't say anything and walked to his seat, while Sirius and James strode across the class like they didn't have a care in the world, eventually taking their places. "How nice of you to join us," Professor Dombey said sarcastically, addressing James and Sirius more than anyone else. He cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose once more,"Anyway, Miss Colt." He trained his lifeless and colourless eyes on Lauren."You mean to tell me that out of fourty students only eleven students turned up? That's just over the equivelent of one year in one house!" Again, his expression was difficult to read but Lauren thought she saw a flicker of knowing cross his inanimate face, a look of mild displeasure. The class didn't reply, they couldn't tell their teacher that over half the students weren't there because they all had massive hangovers, Hogwarts would never be allowed to have another party again. Instead, silence fell upon the class once more and only the smattering of books, distant voices, small coughs and the occasionally whisper disturbed it. It appeared as though Professor Dombey was pondering on something but what that subject was, only he knew. His face wore an expressionless look, as if his personality was else where and all that was left was his body, but you couls almost hear his mind ticking over like a clock, you could almost hear the whiring of his thoughts or the small ding of an idea poping into his head. The class lay still, nothing broke the peaceful and rare silence, all the students fixed their eyes on professor Dombey, waiting for him to disturb the silence once more. Lauren shuffled in her seat, she was desberate to know what he was thinking about, whether it bore any relevence to what was going on or whether he was simply daydreaming, she couldn't fathom. Finally, Professor Dombey cleared his throat, pushed his glasses up and let his dead eyes lay on the students once more. When he spoke, he commanded the attention of the whole class and projected his voice in a way that wasn't really necessary. "I do not see any point in only eleven students taking classes today," a small mumer of conversation broke out, spreading across the classroom like butter over toast,"However, I do not have the authority to give you the day off, that lies with Professor Dumbledore." the coversations died out and a wave of disappointment crashed down,"But, before you get too discouraged, I do have the authority to give you my lesson off. Therefore, you have a double lesson to do whatever you wish. Within reason, of course. If you need me, I'll be at my desk." Professor concluded and took his place at his long, wooden desk. Lauren, who would've ususally felt greatful for this free time, felt annoyed, none of her friends were in today and all the marauders would want to do was either talk, sleep or prank, none of which interested Lauren. Instead, she grabbed her olivine bag, slipped her reading book out of it and laid it on the wooden desk, making sure her bookmark was still inbetween two crisp, creamy pages. The book was an old one that had been passed down though her family, it was bound in creamy, rich brown leather, it was peeling in the lower right-hand corner and at the top of the spine but it had helfd up pretty well considering it's age, the pages were slowly turning a brown-ish colour, replacing the cream, and the black ink had smudged in a couple of places but it was still readable. Lauren's eyes glazed over as she began to read, her teal eyes flicked from side to side as she absorbed all the words. A small snoring interupted her, she turned to face Sirius, who had been placed next to her since second year, to find that his head was placed on his desk and he was fast asleep. His silky, black hair touched his neck and his fringe swept across his hands, to which he was leaning on. Lauren hated to admit it but he looked quite sweet when he was alseep but this thought was quickly dismissed from her mind and she turned back to her book. The lesson seemed to pass slower than ever, the low hum of conversation that was apparent before had been extinguished, the students were either asleep, reading or whispering. When the bell for break finally chimed, Lauren felt relief flood through her, it had been one of the longest lessons she had ever experiened. She was no where near as greatful to their professor for the free time as everyone else and she couldn't wait to exit the classroom.

Lauren was sure this was one of the worst days she'd ever had, attending every lesson alone was bad enough but Malfoy had been hitting on her all day and by sixth period, she could've killed him. The lessons themselves weren't exactly fun, she hated Herbology and DADA was just book work, she'd never thought she would have said this but that day History of Magic was the best lesson. Lunch time was no fun either, Lauren had eaten with Regulus and Barty but she'd gone to the library afterwards, which she only did because they were meeting up with their other friends and, among other things, she still couldn't face Riley after seeing him in his pants. None of the teachers asked about the whereabouts of the other students, they all wore that same expression of knowing that Professor Dombey had done that very morning. The rest of that week followed the same pattern, even though Alex and Rue came back to school on tuesday, Rue still not saying where she went the night of the party, the lessons were especially boring. None of the teachers asked about the mysterious absence of half the students but Lauren had a tiny inkling that they all knew and, maybe on orders from Professor Dumbledore, they weren't denying or agreeing to whether they actually knew that the party had taken place. It seemed as though life was back to normal once more, or as normal as it could get around Hogwarts, nothing strange or abnormal happened, lessons went ahead and definetly no more parties were held. Alice had immerged tuesday morning with indigo bags under her eyes, her skin sickly pale and her black hair scraped back into a messy bun, many other students looked the same way. Alex had spoken to Lauren privately and thanked her for looking after her when she was drunk, Rue still wouldn't say where she went by friday and, after many attempts, Lauren and Alex had given up trying to find out. By the time the end of friday came it was as though the party had never happened, no one was talking about it, there were no decorations left and it was never brought up, as though it was some massive secret, even though everyone in the school knew by then. But saturday seemed more promising, Lauren was just going to spend it in the library, like ususal, Alex had promised to get some homework done as she was fastly falling behind and Rue was going on a date with Edward, it would probably only be around the Hogwarts grounds but it was the thought that counted. As the week continued, Lauren spoke less and less with Sirius, a quick smile, a mumered hello was all that remained as friday night approached, it gave her mixed emotions and, after a long deliberation, she still couldn't work out whether it was for the best.

CHAPTER 47: EMBER

Rubbing her eyes, Lauren sat up in her bed, proping her back up with the pillows, and glanced her misted, teal eyes around the rest of the sleeping dorm. All the beds were filled except one, Rue's was vacant and she was darting around the room, throwing clothes everywhere, odd shoes littered the floor, socks were dotted around randomly and all the draws of her wooden chest were pulled open with garments falling out like some strange waterfall. Picking a flowy, pink top up, Rue held it up against her torso in the mirror, tilted her head to the side, shook it and threw the garment away, it landed somewhere near the bathroom door. Rue did this several times, always throwing the top somewhere else and shaking her head. Lauren found it quite amusing to watch, while Rue darted around opening draws, closing doors, holding up tops, throwing them away. "If Alex could just see this place now," Lauren teased, slipping out from the warm, cosy covers and walking across the silent dorm. Small snores, heavy breaths and the occasionally mumer greeted her as she strode over to where Rue was standing, looking exasperated. She was holding a ruby jumper up against her torso and grimacing at her reflection in the mirror, her huge, brown eyes were filled with sadness and she looked every bit a small child. Smiling her warm smile, Lauren picked up the clothes that were scattered around Rue and placed them back into the wooden draws from which they came. Turning back to Rue, she smiled. "I just can't find anything to wear! It's either too bright, too dull, too big, too small, too itchy, too old, too young, basically it's all wrong!" Rue cried, flopping down onto her bed and sighing. Lauren scanned the trashed room, Rue had certainly tried on most of her clothes, so that pitch was out. But she couldn't stand to see Rue like this, she was like a little sister to Lauren and she was always ready to help her with anything. Smiling again, Lauren strode back across the room to Alex's draws and pulled them open as quietly and slowly as she could, a couple squeaked out of age but nothing that would rouse the others. "If in doubt," she whispered from across the dorm,"Always turn to Alex's clothes." Rue crept across the room, she was a lot quieter than Lauren but then again, she was a lot shorter and came to stand by her side. Sifting though the clothes, Lauren picked up tops, jeans, dresses, skirts, examined them and placed them back in the draws again, nothing seemed right. Until she pulled out a sky blue dress, it was cut around the knee, it had three quater length sleves and a belt cluctching it around the waist. Nodding at it, Lauren winked at Rue and handed it to her, Rue looked less certain than her friend, she eyed it like a rabbit dog that could attack any moment. Waving the garment at Rue, she had no choice but to take it. "Trust me, you'll look really pretty!" Lauren told her, smiling,"It's not too dressy either before you say anything." Rue still looked uncertain but she slipped it on anyway, her hair was flatterned when she pulled it on but it bounced back into place instantly. Buckling up the belt, Rue pushed her hair out of her eyes and walked over to the mirror. A smile lit up her copper face as she studied her reflection, Lauren came striding over carrying a pair of white pumps and a white cardigan. "Thanks, Lauren!" Rue half squeeled, still looking at her reflection,"I love it! But do you reckon Edward will?" She asked, her face falling into a look of uncertanty again. Lauren smiled at the small girl, she would've loved to have a younger sister, it would've been so much more easier than older brothers. To her, Rue seemed like a little girl, no more than ten, in fact, most of the first years were taller than her, but she always seemed delicate and vulnerable, Lauren hated to think of her like that but it was how everyone did. Crouching down to meet her eyes, just like you would with a todler, she looked into her huge, chocolate eyes, her own teal ones twinkling.  
"He'll love it, trust me!" Lauren replied, smiling. Rue giggled slightly and turned towards the mirror again, pulling the bottom of her dress out like a ballerina and twirling around. Laughing too, she walked back to her own draws and studied her clothes. Lauren sighed, picking up some skinny jeans, a white top with black lettering saying 'book worm' that her mother had brought her, a pair of geeky glasses made up the two O's and her navy hoodie. Pulling her clothes on, Lauren slipped her ugg boots on, combed her hair and glanced at the mirror. "How come you can dress others so well but you can't dress yourself?" Rue asked, half giggling. Looking down at her clothes, Lauren felt her face pull up in a smile and laughed. Glancing around the dorm to make sure they hadn't woken anyone up, Lauren bent down to Rue's hight again. "No idea!" She hissed and shrugged."Now, let's get out of here before we wake someone up. What time are you meeting Edward?" Lauren asked, crossing the silent and untidy room and exiting through the thick, wooden door. "He's gonna meet me in the entrance hall." Rue whispered back, following Lauren out of the sleeping dormitory.

The two girls strode through the bitter, unilluminated dungeons, both pulling their jumpers tighter as the unnatural chil sent shivers down their spines. This was a journey they'd both hated taking since first year, the dungeons weren't an exactly welcoming place to have your common room and the constant low temperature made it very uncomfortable, especially in winter. They were always dark, always cold, always as univiting as the time before when you'd had to walk through them, just overall a freezing and depressing place to be. Lauren felt goosebumps climbing up her arms and she had to clench her teeth tightly together to stop them chattering. Finally, much to their relief, Rue and Lauren saw the light from the entrance hall flooding through onto the stone steps that led up to it, it was like the dungeons were a torch and the light from the entrance hall was the bulb. When they reached the marble, entrance the warmth radiating from the grand hall engulfed them and soon the goosbumps disappeared from their arms like evaporated water. Edward was standing by the worn, wooden doors, he was wearing black jeans, a plain, white t-shirt, a black and white baseball jacket and black converses. His face lit up in a huge smile when he saw Rue and the girls walked over to him. "Hey, how are you?" Edward greeted the two girls, smiling. Rue smiled back, pulling at the hem of her cardiagan nervously, she looked every inch of a ten year old girl at that moment. He seemed to sense that she was nervous because he broadened his smile and outstreatch his hand for her to take. Blushing, Rue grabbed his hand and waved to Lauren as the two of them exited through the doors and onto the prestine, olivine grounds. Waving back, Lauren smiled at the sight of them holding hands, deep in conversation. Turning her back on the couple, she walked over to the other set of wooden doors that led into the great hall. "Lauren! Lauren, wait!" Spining around, her chestnut hair flying everywhere, she saw Regulus sprinting towards her, his forehead glowing with sweat. It was strange for her to see him without Barty, those two were usually inseperable. Lauren raised her eyebrows questioningly as Regulus came sprinting towards her, his breaths heavy and fast. "I need you help!" He gasped between deep breaths,"I'm meeting Barty and I have this potions essay but I don't have time to do it. Do you think you could...?" Rolling her eyes, Lauren gave him her 'teacher look', or at least that's what Alex called it, and frowned. But at least that explained where Barty was, he was most probably in the library doing his homework. "You should've done it before, Regulus," She sighed, looking at him disapprovingly,"but I'll write the conclusion. Just this time!" greatfulness flitted across his face and a massive smile stretched across his lips.  
That's it though! Just the conclusion and you write the rest!" Lauren concluded, smiling as she knew that he would accept. Regulus hardly ever did his homeowork and she knew that he definetly wouldn't miss a date with Barty just for it. He smiled, running his fingers through his black, silky hair, that closely resembled his brothers, that fell back in place perfectly. "Thank you! I love you so much!" He gushed, pulling her into a bone breaking hug."I promise that I'll pay you back for it!" Regulus said, pulling her even tighter against his muscly chest that he had achieved from years of Quidditch. Feeling her ribs complain and her stomach pressed right against an awkward part of his body, Lauren squirmed in his grip. "Too tight!" She gasped, feeling as though all twenty-four of her ribs were going to snap. Regulus released her from his grip and she felt relieved as her ribs went back to normal and she was no longer pushed against a place she really didn't want to be. His smile was still in place and she couldn't help but smile back. Grabbing her hand, Regulus dragged her into the grand hall, a few mumers greeted them as people still weren't entirely okay with him and Barty being gay, but they ignored them and rushed over to the Slytherin table. Regulus plucked a couple of pieces of toast from the platter in the middle, took a huge bite out of one, and pulled her by the hand back out of the hall, leaving the mumers and the whispers behind. At the Gryffindor table Sirius had been watching out for Lauren, out of habbit, he'd seen Regulus holding her hand and a small jab of jealousy hit his stomach. As much as he told himself that Regulus was gay and he didn't fancy Lauren, he couldn't shake the jealousy he felt every time he saw them together. But they were gone as quick as a flash, still holding hands. "Give me some!" Lauren demanded, grabbing at the toast in her best friends hand, he laughed and held it above his head. even though her was a year younger, he was considerably taller. Scowling, she narrowed her teal eyes at him and punched him lightly on the arm. "Okay, okay, fine." Regulus replied, laughing. Handing her a slice, he smiled his charming smile that he was sure no one could resist and winked. Rolling her eyes at him, Lauren turned around and headed to the library. Only turning back around to wave goodbye to Regulus, who was heading back to his dormitory to get dressed for meeting Barty.

The two tall, wooden doors stretched out in front of her, Lauren's teal eyes darted to the smooth, brass handles and then to the top of the thick doors, which towered high above her and made her neck ache if she stared too long. Pushing them open, the brass handles felt like ice cubes in her hands but the varnished wood was smooth, Lauren entered inside. The long rows of towering bookcases lined the walls, the tall windows with intricate, white frames allowed for the library to be flooded with golden light that gave it a cosy and welcoming feel, wooden desks with leather tops were dotted around for studying and behind the solid, gold iron gates was the ristricated section with its rich, leather bound books and crisp, creamy pages with its prestine black writing. Glancing at the section she wasn't allowed access to, Lauren walked over to a free wooden desk with an emerald leather top, pulled out the wooden chair with designs climbing down the legs and sat down. Glancing around the place she spent so much time, Lauren noticed that Remus was sitting at a desk identical to hers but with a crimson leather top, she was about to stand up and walk over when she noticed the girl. He was sitting on a table with a girl with curly, flaxen hair that resembled a lions main, it was the same as Rue's with the tight curls but it had more volume, she wore amber glasses that framed her cobolt eyes that were outlined with thick, black eyeliner. The second thing that she noticed was that the girl had no spots, her skin was as clear as glass and she felt a slight resentment at that. Her clothes were what stood out though, she was wearing a fitted, white blouse with ruffles going half way down the front, a silky, navy wasitcoat with antique, brass buttons that were patterned with intricate swirls, the shirt was tucked into a navy, skater skirt and leather, tawny boots that reached up to her knee. Her hair was tamed slightly by the fact that she was wearing a royal blue top hat, it had a ribbon of silk wrapped around the base and it had a bit like shoe laces on the front, that were threaded with silk. The mystery girl couldn't of been much taller than Rue and she was about the same build too. Lauren turned back to her desk, she assumed that the girl was a Ravenclaw, but she didn't know which year, slipping a leather book off of the shelf nearest to her, she trained her teal eyes on the creamy, stained pages. But questions kept nagging at her brain making it impossible to read, Lauren had a burning desire to find out who she was and what there was between Remus and her. Sighing, she glanced over the top of her leather book at the couple, the girl was reading while Remus was just watching her, it looked really sweet. The way that Remus was looking at her indicated that there was definetly something between them, whether it was mutual or not. Suddenly, Lauren was looking straight into a pair of warm, honey eyes that were looking straight back into her twinkling, teal ones. Remus smiled sheepishly at her and his cheeks went slightly pink, Lauren smiled back and glanced to the girl, who was still reading. Deciding it then, Lauren stood up, slotted the leather book back in its place and strode across the library to where Remus and the girl were sitting. Sliding a wooden chair out from under the wooden desk with crimson leather on the top, she sat down and beamed at Remus, who was frowning, and the girl, who smiled back. Setting down her book, the girl smiled at Lauren, the pertruding curls bouncing off her shoulders. "Hello, Remus," Lauren greeted, smiling,"Whose your friend?" Remus frowned slightly, not sure what she was up tp but he figured that no harm could come just to introducing her. The problems would come when he introduced her to the marauders, then things would get quite awkward, it was lucky for him that they never came to the library. "Hi, I'm Ember," The curly-haired girl answered, a broad smile stretched across her clear face. He cobolt eyes had a slight arily glint to them and the black eyeliner made the blue of her eyes stand out. "Ember, pretty name." Lauren commented, smiling,"I'm Lauren." The girl extended a pale hand, to which Lauren took and shook it. Ember seemed very pleasant and she could tell immediatly why Remus liked her. "Thank you. Remus has mentioned you a couple of times, you're the smart Slytherin girl right?" Ember asked, smiling. Lauren felt slightly taken back, she couldn't help but smile to the fact that Remus hadn't only mentioned her but said she was smart. "Have you now, Remus?" She asked, smirking. Remus smiled shyly and his cheeks were tinged a light pink."Well, I don't know about smart but I am a Slytherin, yes." Lauren answered, the smile still in place. Ember waved a hand in the air dismissivly. "What genre of music do you like?" Ember asked, smiling. The question surprised Lauren, it was completely random and they hadn't said anything that had led up to the subject of music, all they had said was pleasantries and greetings. "Er, I like rock," She replied, her hands dancing over one another. Shrugging her shoulders, Lauren sat higher in her seat. "Really? I like rock too!" Ember exclaimed,"What bands do you like?" "I like MCR, All time low, Nickleback, Black Stone Cherry, The Who, Nirvana, Blink 182, Green Day, ACDC, bands like that really."Lauren answered,"What about you?" "The same! I like Fall out Boy as well! Anyway, I must leave you guys, I'm sorry!" Ember said, jumping up and grabbing a brown, leather satchel from under the table."It was lovely meeting you Lauren. Bye Remus!" And with that Ember had scooted inbetween the wooden desks, through the book shelves and exited through the tall, wooden doors. Remus looked incredibly glum, like he was bottling it all up and now she'd left he could express how he felt. His honey eyes looked almost lifeless, the indigo bags under his eyes were more apparent than ever and his chocolate hair was sticking out at odd angles. Sighing, he gathered his books together and turned towards Lauren. "I need to tell you something important, follow me." Remus told her, is tone almost sorrowful. It was the type of voice you would use to console someone whose relative had died, it mirrored exactly how he looked. Lauren stood up, pushing her wooden chair under the desk and followed him through the book cases to the exit. Even though he was only a fourteen year old boy his manor and voice projected someone who was a lot older, his scruffy appearence added years to his features. Lately though he'd been looking even worse, the bags under his eyes were darker, his eyes didn't have that cheery glint anymore and he was becoming less and less conserned with his appearence. Lauren hadn't spoken to him for weeks, otherwise she was sure she would've noticed these things before, maybe she was becoming too absorbed with everything in her own life at the moment. A guilty feeling hit the pit of her stomach, she could've help if she had noticed that he was down in the dumps but she had been preoccupied as of late. Remus led her through the glossy, marble entrance hall, up the pink marble staircase and straight in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

CHAPTER 48: A HEART TO HEART

"Liquorice Allsorts," Remus whispered to the portraite of the fat lady, she swung open and the two of them entered. The Gryffindor common room was considerably lighter than the Slytherin one, plush, ruby soffas and chairs were dotted around, there was a fireplace right in the middle of the room with the fire blazing, a couple of small, wooden tables were dotted around and on one wall there was a massive Gryffindor embelem with a lion on a ruby back ground. A long, velvet sofa was situated straight in front of the fire, Remus led her over to it. The heat hit Lauren immediatly, her whole body felt as though she was standing in the fire along with the flames, she would've swapped common rooms if she could have. Only a few students were around, a cluster of older students were sitting in the far corner on the floor, two of them were wearing prefect badges; a golden P on a ruby red back ground, a couple of first years were sitting in comfy, worn chairs and a smattering of students were working on the wooden tables. Remus sat down on the comfy sofa and indicated for Lauren to do the same, the velvet felt soft and fury as she sat. Turning to her, Remus half smiled, half grimaced and snuggled into the arm of the sofa, leaning back against it. Lauren did the same, their feet were almost touching at the center but Remus wasn't looking at her, he was gazing into the roaring fire, his honey eyes glazed over. The only sound that filled the silence between them was the crackling of the embers of the fire. "Lauren, I need to tell you something." He turned his eyes towards her but they were still dead, they weren't reflecting any emotion,"I have a secret, I've only ever told the guys and Lily. At first, I thought that I wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts because of it but Dumbledore made an exception for me, that's why the whomping willow was planted in the first place." Silence fell on the couple again. Lauren waited for him to continue but he didn't. Her mind was whirring, what could he possibly have done to have the whomping willow planted, she'd had a niggling suspicion in the back of her mind but she hadn't wanted it to be true. Lauren wouldn't of minded if it was true but it was for Remus' sake that she wanted for her to be wrong, it was the first time in her life that she'd hoped she was wrong, that she was mistaken, that she'd concluded it wrong but somewhere deep down, she knew she was right. And that pained her more than anything. "Remus,"His honey eyes connected with hers and she smiled when she saw a spark of something in them,"I know." She didn't continued, she wanted to let that sink it. Remus' eyes were flooded with fear, she could see him swallowing and she could hear his breaths getting shorter and shorter. His hands had gripped the sides of the ruby sofa and the skin stretched over his knuckles had gone a sickly pale colour, it was almost white. Lauren kept searching for something in his gaunt face but it was expressionless, she couldn't tell what he was thinking or how he had reacted to the knews that she knew his massive secret. "But...But how?" He'd breathed the question, not daring his voice to stay sturdy if he went any higher. His grip on the sofa tightened and Lauren could see all the bones in his hands, his eyes were darting everywhere but to her face and his breaths were barely escaping his lips before the next one came. His chest was deepining worringly whenever he took a breath and it looked as though it was going to collapse in on itself. Warm, salty tears started to stream down his sickly pale cheeks as he tried to frantically wipe them away with the sleve of his shirt. Remus started shaking, his teeth occasionally chattering as they knocked against each other, it was a terrifying sight for Lauren to see him like that when she cared for him so much, her eyes filled with compassion. "Remus, Remus look at me!" Lauren demanded, looking straight into his wasted face and honey eyes that lacked warmth,"I don't care. What you are, it doesn't bother me. It's not going to change anything between us. Remus," her vocie carried such an authority that he turned his shaking body towards her,"I promise you, it won't change anything!" Wiping fresh tears from his honey eyes, Remus smiled a shakey smile that was just a ghost of his usual warm smile. His grip on the sofa loosened, the skin on his hands turned back to its normal colour and she could no longer see all the bones in them. But he was still shaking uncontrolably, his arms were folded across his chest that was still taking heaving breaths, his eyes were still emotionless and he looked more worn and older than ever, like an old man who was on his deathbed. Lauren met his eyes and smiled again, the Remus that she'd met in first year looked the same, he was obviously slightly shorter and didn't have whispy hairs on his face, but he was a lot happier and he had a happy glint in his honey eyes that radiated warmth and friendlyness to anyone he met. "But I'm...I'm a monster, I'm not safe...You'll get hurt around me...I can't, I don't want to..." Remus was still shaking, his trembling lips struggling to form the right letters and syllables to get his words out. His hands were picking at the hem of his shirt and his eyes were flicking from place to place like a terrified rat. Lauren captured his gaze and smiled again, trying to reassure him. The heat from the crackling fire wasn't helping the goosebumps that had appeared on his arms from the shaking and his face looked more like one of a thirty year old then a fourteen year olds. "No, Remus, you're not a monster. You're not dangerous and I'm not gonna let you hurt me. Remus," her voice was kind and gentil,"I promise you that and I'm not going anywhere."Lauren crossed her arms over her chest to empathise her point,"So, I guess you're stuck with me. Now, enough of this rubbish. Why aren't you going out with Ember yet?" Remus looked up, a glint of happiness in his honey eyes. A small, smile was playing on his lips and it made him look years younger, more like a fourteen year old boy instead of thirty. The trembling had stopped, his lips could finally form words properly and his arms were limp, they hung loosely by his sides in a more relaxed position. Lauren raised her fair eyebrows and a smirk climbed up her thin, lips that had turned crimson from the heat that the blazing fire was emitting. "She would never like someone like me, what's the point in asking if I already know what the answers going to be?" Remus asked, sighing. His shoulders slumped again, making him look skeletal and way too skinny for his hight. There was still a glint of happiness in his warm, honey eyes though and that made him appear to be not so gaunt. Lauren would've never guessed that he could of had that low self esteem, she would have assumed that it was more common in girls than boys, as she was pretty insecure herself, but here Remus was, asking why a girl would ever date him. She couldn't of ever imagined Sirius or James moping about a girl that they could never have but then she guessed that that wouldn't be a problem for them since most girls in Hogwarts had a crushed on either or both of them. Maybe James did before he dated Lily, since he'd been asking her out for quite a while before anything actually happened. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lauren snapped out of her daydream and smiled at Remus. It was unbelieveable how fragile he looked. "Oh, I apolgise, I didn't realise you were physic."Lauren commented, sarcasm radiating off of her,"Remus, you've got to take a chance, if you don't then how do you ever expect to get somewhere in life? Trust me, just ask her and see what she says. You never know." Lauren told him, smiling. Since she'd only met Ember once she couldn't know for sure whether she felt the same as Remus felt for her and she couldn't read her either but the two of them seemed pretty close, anything was possible. She felt slightly hypocritical telling Remus to do one thing and she was doing the complete opposite but Ember wasn't the most desired girl in the school, she was really pretty by all means but it just wasn't the same. How could Lauren tell her best friend and the guy that most girls would do anything to date that she had fallen for him just like the rest? They were in two completely different senarios and they simply couldn't be compared, or Lauren didn't want to compare them. She knew that she couldn't take her own advice, just like she couldn't dress herself the way she could dress other people, it just wouldn't work. And she was scared, terrified that Sirius would say no and everything would be ruined. Then, it would be all her fault, or so she thought. "Lauren, I don't think I can! I'm not like James or Sirius, I don't have the same confidence that they do! I can't just go up to a girl and ask her out, if one of them got denied, as you saw James did many times, then they just move on, chin up and onto the next person. And I just can't." Remus told her, his smile fading slightly. Lauren could empathise with him completely, she understood everything that he was going through and she knew that nothing she could say would make him feel any better but she had to try. He had one thing right though, he wasn't like James and Sirius, they were loud, confident and cocky, Remus was quiet, studious and shy, they were complete opposites.  
"I know, Remus and I agree, you're nothing like them. But you can do this, all you have to do is ask a simple question and if she says no, well then ask to still be friends and, even though that almost never works, she seems like the kind of girl that would try. For you." His eyes were back to emitting warmth and friendlyness, he looked less skinny and weak as he sat tall against the ruby, velvet arm of the sofa. Lauren knew that he wasn't the confidentist guy but surely he couldn't be this insecure. Maybe Ember was in the Ravenclaw common room feeling the exact same way, maybe she was sat in front of the fire, if they had one, thinking that Remus would never feel the same way as she did. This thought was always the one that kept her hope alive, why couldn't it do the same for him? It spurred her on to get them together even more, Lauren really wanted them to date now and nothing or no one was going to stop her. Remus returned her smile, his honey eyes coming back to life, his face was full of emotions again and, although he was still as scruffy as ever, he looked more like the tiny first year she'd seen on the train. "I'll ask her, I promise." He comfirmed, nodding his head like ending a business agreement,"Maybe not tomorrow though..." Lauren sighed, rolled her eyes and him and slumped back against the velvet sofa arm. Remus chuckled softly and mirrored her actions, it was lucky that she wasn't sharing the sofa with Sirius or James who were taller then Remus or their feet would be touching. Maybe one day she would be sitting with Sirius like this, maybe one day she'd pluck up the courage to ask him. Just maybe. Her teal eyes glazed over as she gazed into the roaring fire that was spitting embers around its brick enclosuer like putting a wild animal in a cadge. She couldn't imagine herself ever asking him, she would never have the confidence or the courage. It would never happen, of that she was sure. "Lauren," Remus said in a voice like when you test water to see how cold it is. She snapped out of her daydream, her eyes twinkled in the firelight as she turned her attention back to him,"Who do you fancy?" Lauren chuckled, turning her aquamarine eyes back to the blazing fire, how could she even begin to tell him? Remus was very trustworthy, she would trust him with her life, but he would be sure to tell his best friend. After all, any good friend would and Remus couldn't be good friends to both of them. No, he would tell Sirius the truth and everything would go up in smoke. He wouldn't be able to resist telling his best friend who fancied him, though if he did that with the whole school he would need a length of parchment as tall as Hogwarts itself, but he would understand how she felt. It would be impossible to tell Remus and to expect it to be kept a secret, he had been friends with Sirius for longer and it wouldn't be fair to expect that of him. Lauren would do the same if she found out one of the marauders fancied Alex or Rue, she'd think it would be her duty as their friend. "Slytherin's never tell their secrets," Lauren answered, laughing lightly. Remus frowned at her, a crease forming between his thick, brown eyebrows. It aged him considerably. Smiling, she gazed into the fire once more and tried to ignore the fact that Remus was staring intently at her. How ever much she wanted to tell him, Lauren knew that she would never be able to. The common room was slowly filling up, the buzz of conversations was getting louder and louder. From where she was sitting, Lauren could hear the portraite of the fat lady complaining in her shrill voice about having to keep opening. That was one thing she was greatful for at her common room, their portraite never said anything except the odd 'good morning' or 'bye', he certainly didn't keep up conversations with the students. "Please, tell me." Remus asked, worry lines appearing on his forehead,"You know that I won't tell anyone!" She smiled at him simpathetically, small lines appearing in the corners of her topaz eyes. The gold flecks in his honey eyes shined as they caught the flames in the crackling fire, the purple bags were momentarily gone as he looked every inch of his age again. "Moony! Where've you been?" Lauren recognised that silky smooth voice immediatly. Remus looked lightly startled by the voice but his face lit into a huge smile meanwhile she rolled her eyes and her nose crinkled. He laughed lightly, his honey eyes were staring to somewhere over her shoulder and Lauren assumed that they had just walked in, either from their dorm or from the portraite hole. The ancient floorboards underneath the soft, cushiony creaked as the marauders drew closer, Lauren felt dread wash through her as the footsteps appeared to be in time with the thumps radiating from her own heart. "Anyway," Lauren said, trying to stop her voice from sounding too breathy,"You have to ask her!" Remus' face fell out of the smile and into an expression of quail."Either you ask her or I'll ask her for you and If I have to ask, I won't being doing it subtly!" Smirking, Lauren heard small breaths and the creaking had stopped. James, Sirius, Lily and Peter were standing by the crackling fire, that was now spitting embers into its bricked enclosure, all of them looking slightly surprised to find Lauren sitting in the Gryffindor common room and with Remus. Not taking her teal eyes off Remus, who was still looking like he'd rather cut his own arm off then ask Ember out, Lauren grimaced internally and sighed, a silent sigh as to not alert the others that she'd rather they weren't there. "So, have you two been here all day?" Sirius asked with a rather serious edge to his voice, nothing like his usual jokey persona. Lauren shot Remus a questioning look, he hadn't told his friends about Ember, to which he replied with an anxious fake smile and a glint of faint horror in his hazel eyes. Lauren could never remember seeing Sirius being this solemn, either he wasn't too happy to see them together or something had happened today, she thought as a long, eerie silence stretched over the small group. Finally, Remus shattered the silence. "No, I've been in the library since I left you guys and Lauren met me there about half an hour ago." He replied, rubbing his forehead where the deep creases had vanished a couple of minutes ago. Sirius seemed to relax a little, Lauren had no idea what had made him up tight, surely it couldn't of been her and Remus, she thought, while staring absentmindedly to the window behind the latter. The atmosphere was a little warmer after that, like a spring day where summer was slowly rolling in and spring was being pushed away, warm sun to be replaced by scorching hot rays, perfectly green grass and beautiful, clear, topaz skies. "You were in the library all that time by yourself? What were you doing, moony?" James teased, nudging Sirius subtly, it was a silent way of telling him to cheer up. Remus hesitated, it was clear that he didn't want to lie to his friends but even Lauren knew that he would be teased non-stop until he asked Ember out. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing. "I wasn't alone," You could feel the atmosphere tense up in antisipation,"I was with some Ravenclaw." Lauren couldn't help but smile at the off-hand way he used the word 'some', you would never have guessed that he was talking about the girl he was going to ask out the very next day. James caught her smile and caught on straight away, smirking at Lauren before turning his attention back to his honey-eyed friend. Meanwhile, Lauren glanced her aquamarine eyes towards Sirius, he still looked pretty gloomy and he wouldn't meet her gaze. "Anyway," Lauren said, standing up and stretching out."I'll be off then." She walked around the fluffy chairs and velvet sofas towards the portraite hole, getting skeptical looks as she crossed the Gryffindor common room. She was just about to walk out into the glossy, marble corridor when she stopped and turned around."You should tell them, Remus!" Lauren called and disappeared out of the room.

CHAPTER 49: A LOVE LETTER

A little while later, Lauren pushed open the thick, heavy door to the dormitory, groaning slightly as the worn wood pushed back againslitst her body. Four pairs of curious eyes greeted her as she entered the messy room, littered with odd socks and various germents, and strode over to her foue-poster bed with fresh, clean sheets. You could smell the hint of flowers that still lingered in the air from when it was cleaned. Her neck started to tingle as the eyes watched her every move and Lauren started to get anxious that she'd done something wrong. "What? What's wrong?" Lauren asked, turning to Alex. She was still in her pajamas, the blue and white checked bottoms clashed violently with the fuisha top that she'd teemed with them. It occured to Lauren as a very un Alex-ish thing to do. Pansy was wearing skin-tight black jeans, an emerald, shiffon shirt that swayed with the slightest movement and black leather, lace-up boots. Annabeth was wearing a black, leather jacket, a lacey, white top and black jeans. Rue was still in what Lauren had dressed her that very morning. "You got a letter, it was delivered a couple of hours ago." Alex answered, smiling mischeviously. Lauren let out a chuckle of relief, nothing was wrong, they just wanted to know what was in the letter. She extended a long, pale arm with a very expensive-looking cream envelope in her curled up hand. Returning the smile, Lauren took the expensive letter from Alex's hand and studied it. It was oddly heavy for a letter, the paper just for the envolope was the most expensive she had ever seen and the writing on the front was very posh script. It reminded her of coligraphy writing. Sliding her index finger underneath the flap, Lauren tore open the creamy envelope and slid the letter out with her index finger and her thumb. If the envelope looked expensive, it had nothing on the actual paper. It looked like someone had figured out how to turn double cream into paper, to the touch it felt like silk and the parchment was folded perfectly. Aware of four sets of eyes on her and a strong sense of de ja vu, Lauren unfolded the paper and began to read.

Dear Lauren, I know that we haven't spoken in a while but I need to tell you something. This thing has been eating me up ever since I last saw you at the Quidditch Cup. Really, ever since we broke up before we started school but only we know that. I've tried to ignore it but it's impossible. I can't stop thinking about you, about us, about what we use to have. I realised that I never really got over you. I keep thinking about all those boys at Hogwarts, I wonder everyday if you're dating one of them or if one has a crush on you and I find it unbareable. I was going to wait to do it in person but every agonizing second passes and I just can't take the situations my brain fabricates. The truth is, and has been for a long time, that I love you. I love you, Lauren and I want you back. Nothing here at Durmstrang can distract me from the thoughts of you that plague my mind constantly and that drift into my dreams. I know that you got over me all those years ago when we were small children but I can't stand you not knowing that I haven't. Sure, we were young and naive but I know what I felt for you was real. It was the same as I feel now. Maybe you don't feel the same, maybe you've moved on and forgotten about me but I need you to know that I feel this way. I want to be with you. My friends think I'm insane, they keeping telling me that I can't be in love but they don't know you. You're one of my best friends and I know you. I know your favourite food is pizza with cooked pineapple and loads of cheese, your favourite song is 'That Girl' by All Time Low. I know you love muggle books. I know you can play electric and base guitar and drums. I know you. I love you. I'll always love you. I can't wait to see you in the summer. I haven't stopped thinking about playing Quidditch with you again since we won the cup, I always think about seeing you soring high above the pitch, your laughter ringing across the grounds, your glossy hair flying out behind you as you swoop in and save some player from being clobbered by a bludger. I keep remembering the time when I came into training and you started yelling at me to get out because you were wearing those tight gym shorts, that time when I got hit in the stomach by a bludger and you swooped down straight away, risking yourself being hit, to aid me. How we laughed for ages after that. When we first met, how you were plesant straight from the start, how we just clicked, when we played that prank on the coach because he was pushing us too hard with those press ups. I remember when neither of us could do press ups or sit ups, so we just sat about laughing and messing around. I miss those times more than anything. How your face lit up when I asked you out. Our date at the Quidditch pitch where we laid underneath the twinkling stars and I said that they were dull compared to your eyes. How, after all the training for the cup we went back to my home in England and ate nothing but pizza and drank nothing but cola. I want nothing more then to see you right now. I miss you. There isn't a second that goes by when I don't. It doesn't matter where I am; classes, break, lunch, dinner, our common room, Quidditch, I miss you. I can't help it. I should probably ask something more casual like 'how's school going?' and not make this a soppy love letter but I don't want to. I'm afraid that this letter is nothing more than me declaring my love for you. Whatever happens between us, I'll always love you. No matter what happens. I'll see you in the summer.

Always yours

Alex

Lauren read and re-read the signed name. Alex. Alex whom she'd been friends with since she started Quidditch, Alex who was talented enough to get onto one of the league Quidditch teams at fourteen, Alex who she'd had a relationship with before she'd started Hogwarts, Alex who she'd ended it with because he was going off to Durmstrang, Alex who'd just made everything ten times more difficult. "Who's it from?" Alex asked, it was clear from the way that it had come out very quickly that she hadn't been able to contain her curiousness for any longer. Lauren hadn't told anyone about her relationship with Alex, all her friends knew was that they played on the same Quidditch team in the summer. The parchment suddenly felt like it weight tonnes, her fingers that were clasped around it fell limp and the parchment increased in weight. "Just someone who plays on my Quidditch team, It's nothing really. Just them asking how's school, how am I, the ususal." She lied, regretting every word as it escaped her lips, tasting like acid. The moment the lie had been told, Lauren felt a deep guilt tugging at her, like when a todler pulls at your leg to get your attention but internally. Sighing, Alex flopped back down on her bed, her curled hair covering the surface of her prestine, white pillow. Chuckling lightly, Lauren crossed the squishy carpet and laid down on her own bed, staring at the wooden planks of her bed that gave the impression of enclosing in the ceiling. "It serves you right for being so nosey!" She teased, while Alex sighed and mumbled about wasting her time when she could've of been doing something much more important. That made Lauren smile. Rolling her eyes, she slid the letter underneath her plump pillow and turned her teal eyes towards the ceiling once more, in an attempt to shred the guilt that was falling upon her like terential rain. Rue was laughing lightly from across the room, she was pulling on her pajamas, small, navy shorts and a plain, white vest top, Pansy was laughing too and Annabeth was smiling. "Anyway," Alex said with a definite edge to her voice, she wasn't angry though,"While you were gone, we made a trip to the kitchens and got some food. Tonight we're gonna have a midnight feast!" Alex exclaimed, forgetting that she was suppose to be angry and becoming the ususal, excitable Alex that they all knew. Laughing, Rue crossed the room once more and sat on her bed, hugging her bare knees against her chest. She looked even small then usual. Lauren wasn't quite as happy as the others sounded, all she wanted to do was go somewhere quiet and work out what she was going to do about the letter. The worst thing was not being able to talk to someone about it. 'A problem shared is a problem halfed' God knows how many times she'd heard that saying, one of those pathetic things that adults lied about to try and get younger people to feel better. 'Jee, thanks for the advice.' Lauren thought sarcastically, while listening to the other girls talking about tonight. "I can't believe I've been three years at this school and I don't know what time curfew is. Do any of you know?" Annabeth asked, flicking her sea eyes across the dorm at the four other girls. Pansy simply shook her head in answer and went back to the letter she was writing, presumably to her family. The sound of the quill scratching across the parchment filled the air and was a soft background noise that blended into the buzz of the conversation. Rue shook her head too, her curly, brown hair swaying slightly as she did. Alex didn't even bother to answer, she would've been the last person to know any of the rules around Hogwarts. "Yeah,"Lauren answered, snapping out of her daze just in time to catch the question,"It's around nine. That's when Filch and other prefects start patrolling the corridors. Prefects stop around ten and go to their dorms and then it's just Filch." A silence fell upon the girls, the only sound filling the air the one of the quill and that was too annoying for any of them to let it last more then a second. Lauren kept reaching under the pillow and touching the silky-smoothness of the envelope, it was a habit that she couldn't break and she couldn't think about anything else except the love letter that was safetly concealed underneath the pristine, whiteness. "How do you know that, If you don't mind me asking?" Annabeth asked, you could hear the surprise in her voice. Lauren laughed lightly, her hand sliding under the pillow once more and reaching for the letter. Her mind reeled back to the summer after she'd turned ten and recieved her Hogwarts letter, her mum had come to her room and handed her a book about all the rules. She'd never forget the words that had come with the heafty, crimson book. They could still play in her voice as clear as glass 'Hopefully you'll be able to stick to them better than your brothers'. That had also been the summer when she'd met Alex, a small, ten year old boy with golden/blond hair and blue/grey eyes, the only thing that had really changed about him was his hight and his muscles. Years and years of Quidditch had done wonders for his phisique. That had been the summer that changed everything. "My mum gave me a rulebook of Hogwarts the summer before I'd started, my brothers weren't exactly sticklers for rules, much the oppoiste really." she smiled at the memory,"Let's just say, I think she had better hopes for me." Lauren told them, letting the sceen roll through her mind as she told it. That was the calm before the storm, before the whirlwind of school, relationships and friends, before everything basically. "How did you guys meet? I mean, me and Anna were friends when we met through Draco and Blaise but what about you Lauren?" Pansy asked, sitting up on her bed and crossing her legs like a child would when you were reading them a story. Stretching, she sat up too and leant her back against the hard, wooden headboard. Rue and Alex mimic the two girls until everyone was ready to hear the story of how Lauren got to be where she was. "Okay, so my mum and dad had just dropped us off at the station, we'd said goodbye and my brothers helped me load my case onto the train, no idea why they were feeling nice that day. We got on the train, I said goodbye to them as they walked away to their friends and I started to walk down the train, looking for a spare carriage. But Fred had to go back for his quill after we'd left the house in an attempt to be early, so I only just got on in time. They were all full, every single one that I passed was occupied and I began to loose hope. Unfortunetly, no offence Pansy and Annabeth, I know you're friends with him, but I knew Malfoy from all the little pure blood things that our parents did and we crossed paths, literally. He asked me if we wanted to be friends, since we were both pure bloods we'd probably be in Slytherin, he asked me if I wanted to sit with him and his friends. I said no to both of those questions and clung to the hope that I'd find a carriage. I was loosing hope when I got to the last two, I found some boys from Fred's year in one and Alex and Rue in the other. I asked them if I could sit with them, they said yes and here we are." She laughed at the memory,"A little while later we hear a bang from Malfoy's carriage, him, Goyle, Crabbe and some other old boys were covered in blue powder. I saw four boys running away from the mess, they know that I saw them but they scarpered pretty quickly." Alex and Rue joined in the laughter, Pansy and Annabeth looked confused, they must've been at the other end of the train. Yawning, Lauren stretched out and touched the letter once more. She couldn't remember ever being that close to Pansy or Annabeth, they were just fellow Slytherin girls whom they were forced to share a dorm with but now they felt like they actually got along, like they were something more than just people who were grouped together out of their house and year. "My stories pretty much the same as Lauren's,"Alex said, massaging her neck"I couldn't find a seat, so I met Rue in one of the compartments. I guess we were all just lucky when we were sorted into the same house." She concluded, rolling her head around and squeezing the nape of her neck. Fatigue was slowly rolling over Lauren like a storm rolling through the sky, yawns were becoming more and more frequent until, finally, she had to lay back on her bed. Pulling the thick, comforting covers up to her neck, a final yawn escaped her chapped lips before sleep took her, the other girls in her dorm were completely oblivious to this fact. By the time that the girls were ready to have their midnight feast, they all glanced over to Lauren's bed as the sound of heavy breaths and the occasional snore emitted from one of the emerald-draped beds. The midnight feast lay forgotten as each girl slowly drifted off into their own deep slumbers. And soon the whole room was filled with heavy breaths and snores.

Sunday. One of the dullest days know to men. And woman. When Lauren's aquamarine eyes flicked open, only one thought occupied her mind; Remus was going to ask Ember out today. Or so he had said. She wasn't sure if he had just said it to stop her nagging, which was a strong possibility, in any case Lauren was devoted to getting them together and they would. Even if it killed her in process. Well, not that far but the point was that she shipped them together so much and they would be getting together. Flicking her eyes open and shut a couple of times to blink the mist that had come from lack of sleep, Lauren pushed the dovet off her warm, cosy body and shivered against the bitting wind that had somehow engulfed her bare legs in a couple of seconds. She wrapped her arms around ehr body and slid out of bed, using on of the wooden pillars to make sure her steps were as light as possible. It was times like this Lauren wished she was as small and light as Rue, this whole sneaking thing would be a lot easier. Silently gliding on of the wooden draws open, she rumaged through the silky tops, wooly jumpers, harsh jeans and smooth designer garments her mum had forced her to pack. Tugging out some black jeans from the sea of clothes, Lauren slipped them on, grabbed a white vest top and a blue and white checked shirt and tried to close the draw again. Quickly, she slipped the shirt and top on, tucking the vest top into her jeans, and grabbed her blue converses. Running a brush through her hair, she smoothed it down and glanced in the mirror. A quick nod meant that she looked at least presentable. Then, Lauren crept across the carpeted floor, flinching everytime the ancient floorboards creaked. A quick spell informed her that the time was ten-forty and she assumed that Remus would be awake. The walk to the Gryffindor common room was one of the longest and most boring routes in the castle, she had to climb one set of sleek, marble stairs to get out of the dungeons, cross the bustling entrance hall-she did nip into the grand hall on her way and steal two pieces of toast and a hashbrown in fairness, which just added to the length of the journey but she was hungry-climb the marble staircase which was always flooded with students and traipse down the stretching corridor, while recieving some very sour looks from other Gryffindors, you think that smiling at them woud convince them you're not a murdering, callous Slytherin but apparently not. This was the route she always took, she always recieved those looks, she always ached after climbing a, in her opinion, stupid ammount of stairs but the worst thing was, by far, the portraite that hung above the entrance to the lion's common room. The fat lady, always dressed in a baby pink dress that was unflattering for her figure and matched her glowing, rosey cheeks, which did nothing for her complextion. The knight at the Slytherin entrance was much more anti-social, which suited the students fine, while she had to strike up a conversation with everyone in that shrill voice that made Lauren grimace everytime she heard it. But she suppose it would be hard to understand the knight since he couldn't take his metal helmet off. Shrugging those thoughts away, she approached the portraite of the fat lady with a smile as fake and plastic as the toys made in china. A look of vague distaste had planted itself on her round, portly but Lauren still held her fake, plesant smile in place, the last thing she needed was another accusing look deeming her to be an malicious, murdering Slytherin. The lady dressed in hideous, pink frills refused to aknowlegde Lauren, even though she was sure the painting new she was there. Feeling slightly annoyed at the already frosty greeting, Lauren was past caring when people eviled her although she found it amusing that the other houses acuused Slytherin of being prejudice but then they were predjudice themselves towards the snakes. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat lightly and beemed up at the woman, who returned it with a smile possibly even more fake. The chocolate curls were twisting around her plump neck shook as she turned her head down towards Lauren, who felt tiny having to gaze up to the judgemental woman. Internally cursing the woman, she smiled again and made her voice as sickly polite as she could muster, she felt secretly grateful to her parents for throwing all those pureblood parties, it meant she was now an expert at being nice to people she wanted to punch. "You again, is it?" The fat lady asked, not impolitely but she wasn't exactly bubbling over with joy to see the Slytherin girl again. Resisting the urge to raise her voice, to ask her what her problem was, and the urge to roll her eyes at the blunt tone she used, Lauren simply smiled back and spoke with her voice taking on a patheticly girly tone. To be honest, it made her feel sick to the core. She could imagine that someone like Marlene would use that kind of voice when attempting, empathesis on the attempt, to flirt with guys and Lauren didn't want to be or do either of those things. Taking a steadying breath to calm herself down, why did everyone always assume that she was a bitch? Trying hard to bite back a response of 'no shit sherlock or no, I'm a ghost. Boo', she smiled once again and spoke. "Yeah, I was wondering if I could go in?" She asked, pointing with her eyes to the wall beyond the portraite. Lauren wasn't impolite by any means but once someone was mean towards her or someone she cared about, that was it. It was a trait that her mother had constantly moaned to her about, which didn't really help matters because Lauren soon lost her temper and started spewing insults, but she found it difficult to not defend herself or the person, why would she just sit there and take the abuse? But being friendly was the only option in the situation as Lauren wasn't suppose to even know where other peoples common rooms were, let alone go into them. So, she waited as the lady looked her up and down as if she'd just crucio'd someone and the fake smile never left her lips. "I suppose you can," The portraite said, her shrill voice ringing in the Slytherin's ears,"If you must." Her chocolate eyes lit up and flared at those words, it gave her the look of one of those childrens toys, where you'd squeeze the head and the eyes would pop out. Rubbing her pale hands together, Lauren smiled at the woman once more, though every fiber of her being was screaming at her to respond, to snap something that would shut her up and stop the dirty looks, but she bit back the response and turned her aquamarine eyes towards the portriate door swung open, revealing a lit, welcoming common room, decorated with red and gold. Taking once last chance to send a, what she hoped was charming, smile towards the lady, Lauren clambered through the hole and emerged in a toasy, inviting common room. A couple of accusing looks were sent her way but she ignored them and carried on, the crackling fire giving her pale face a yellow glow, like the kind angels had in storybooks. A mass of silky, crimson hair came rushing towards her, nearly knocking her off balance with a gut-wrenching hug. Laughing, Lauren cast her eyes around the illuminated room, searching for the honey-eyed boy. Finally, Lily released her and beamed, throwing her hair back over her petite shoulders. "Hey, Lily. Have you seen Remus today?" Lauren asked, finding no sign of the werewolf in the cosy room. Lily's emerald eyes wouldn't meet her friends gaze, her cheeks pinkened slightly and when she spoke it was way too fast and all the words, letters and syllables ended up joining together to form one incoherent speech that left both the girls a little confused to say the least. Clearing her throat, the flame-haired girl composed herself once more and spoke again. "Yes," she sighed in defeat,"He's laying in bed all day and refuses to come out because he promised you that he'd ask that girl out. He's scared, Lauren." The words hit her like she'd been slapped round the face, she'd never expected Remus to take such drastic measures just because he was worried that she would refuse him. Lily's smile was apologetic and sympathetic at the same time, it was clear that he had told her everything that had gone on. Without another word, Lily led her friend up the stairs leading to the boys dorms, a few questioning looks were sent their way but they didn't stop nor slow down. Soon, they were facing a solid oak door with a brass plaque that read 'Gryffindor Fourth Years', Lily raised a pale hand and knocked on the wood four times, the loud sound seemed to carry down the corridor and bounce of the walls. A few mutters were heard in the room before, eventually, James swung open the door and the two girls entered inside.

The dorm was quite like the Slytherin ones; five four-poster beds were dotted around, except that instead of emerald green drapes, they had ruby red ones enclosing the person inside, the thick carpet ruffled with every step, there was a small, square window on the back wall of the room and five small, wooden chests of draws situated by each bed. On the right wall there was a door in which Lauren assumed led to the bathroom, but there was one major difference between her dorm and theirs; the place was a mess. Odd socks, ruby and yellow ties scattered everywhere, crisp, white school shirts lay discarded and boxer shorts were thrown anywhere, she hoped that they were fresh but she didn't dwell too much on that. Peter was sat on his bed, his right hand was lazily holding a eagle-feather quill and a piece of creamy parchment laid in front of him, an open textbook was situated to his right and his face wore an expression of utter bewilderment. James and Sirius were playing a game with cards on one of the chest of draws, James kept ruffling his hair, glancing his hazel eyes down towards the cards and up to his best friends face. Sirius was much better at wearing a mask of no emotion, his stormy eyes emitted nothing and his face didn't have a single line or crease. Meanwhile, Remus was laying on his bed, the crimson curtains were open but his face was stuffed into one of the crisp pillows and he didn't even flinch when the door banged shut. "Let me guess, Lauren?" Remus muffled voice came, his face lifted fractionally as he spoke and flopped back down onto the pillow. Smiling to herself, she walked across the room, careful not to tread on anything littering the floor, it looked as though they'd been walked over enough. Coming to a halt by his bed, she sat on the end and used the softest voice she could muster. "How'd you guess?" She asked, laughing as Remus groaned and flopped over. His hazel eyes wouldn't meet her gaze but a small smile was creeping up his lips and, as much as he hated himself for it, he couldn't help but smile at the girl who'd been his friend for the past two and a bit years. They weren't exactly what you'd call close but he felt like he could talk to Lauren about anything and she wouldn't judge him, it wasn't as if Remus could have a 'chat' with his friends, Peter maybe, but he might go blurting it out, James, probably not as he'd be teased endlessly and Sirius was out of the question, the thought made him cringe. "You know, you're annoyingly persistent." He groaned, wrinkling his nose at her. Lauren couldn't help but laugh, it sounded as though he was trying to insult her but she took it as more of a compliment. After all, it meant that she really cared about her friends, enough to get involved in something that had absoluetly nothing to do with her. Peter looked very confused by whatever homework he was doing; a couple of deep creases had appeared on his spot-filled forehead, he kept running his fingers through his dull, brown hair but the biggest give away was that his parchment was completely empty. James and Sirius were still engrossed in their card game; too much to even notice that Lauren had arrived. If James hadn't answered the door then she was sure that the two of them wouldn't've had a clue that she was with them.  
"Why, thank you." She replied, a friendly smile planted on her chapped lips. Remus simply shook his head; it appeared he had given up o speech all together and resulted to shoving his head back into his pillow. Peter sent him some worried looks but didn't do anything about it, he was far too bothered by whatever assignment he'd been set. Lily was laying down on one of the beds, flitting her emerald eyes from her boyfriend and his best friend to Remus, who had resulted to curling up in the foetal position. Lauren got up from Remus' bed, stretching as she did, and went and sat on the bed opposite. Just then Sirius looked up from his game, he looked slightly annoyed and she assumed that it was his bed she was sitting on. "No, no, no. Not my bed." Sirius told her, frowning,"Off!" Laughing, Lauren chose to ignore him. Rolling his stormy eyes at her, he turned back to his game. As he didn't seem to mind, Lauren stayed where she was. The bed was oddly comfortable, the drapes around it were thicker than the Slytherin ones and the matress seemed softer. Actually, the whole room wasn't too bad, once you got past the oder that smelled like a mix of lynx, sweat and something she didn't want to identify. Whatever it was, it smelt horrible and her gag reflex was trying to interviene. "So, tell me, Remus," Lauren said, ignoring Sirius' half-hearted protests from across the room,"Why are you here with us, instead of asking out Ember?" He flinched slightly at the use of her name but didn't lift his head,"I'm just saying, I thought you were suppose to be a Gryffindor. I mean, I'm the evil one. You're suppose to be brave. Remember?" This was a tactful move from Lauren, Remus hated anyone who question his sorting. Everyone knew that the sorting hat was never wrong, but she'd had reason to question it after Rue was sorted into Slytherin. His head shot up, he attempted to glare at his friend but it didn't work and soon, they were both smiling. "Are you going to make me ask her?" He asked, his honey eyes full of worry. Lauren shook her head, her chestnut hair swaying around her neck and shoulders."It's not that I don't want to," Remus whispered to her, hoping that the others wouldn't hear,"I'll ask her tomorrow. I promise you." He finished, standing up and walking over to Peter, who had passed confused and looked like he was about to tear his own hair out in frustration. 'Tomorrow' Lauren mouthed to Lily, who had a questioning expression on her face. Rolling her dazzling, emerald eyes, the two girls burst into laughter. It was amazing how much Remus differed from James and Sirius but then if they were all the same, the friendship really wouldn't work the way it did. "To be honest, Moony," Sirius started, Lauren rolled her teal eyes, whatever he had to say wasn't going to help in slightest, of that, she was sure."I don't get it." Crinkling her nose, she rolled her eyes again. This time, Lily caught her and the two girls started laughing again, much to the confusion of the boys. Shaking his head in bewilderment, Remus turned back to Peter, explaining things very slowly and clearly, like the way a mother would explain what he'd done wrong to her todler who'd just broken something. "Anyway, guess what I heard." Lily said, she was laying on the opposite bed to Lauren. The beds went James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, starting from the right and working left. Without waiting for any kind of comment from her best friend, she continued,"Apparently, last night Pansy was spotted walking through the corridor above us." Lauren didn't see what was great or interesting about this news, her face must've shown this because Lily sighed,"And guess who was also spotted about,ooh,"she looked up to the ceiling, pretending to calculate the time,"ten minutes after she was spotted?" This got Lauren's attention, Pansy hadn't mentioned anything about a new guy in her life but, then after Malfoy who could blame her?"You know that Hufflepuff boy, the one she was at the party with?" Lily left the question hanging in the air, waiting for the tension to build and for the information to sink in. If Lauren's eyebrows got any higher, they'd disappear into her hairline, she'd fallen alseep early, so she didn't know if the rumours were true or not. News spread fast at Hogwarts, very fast. Nothing could be kept secret for very long, word got out and spread around the school faster then the speed of light. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for her and everything," Lauren said, breaking the silence that had fallen upon the couple,"But, really? A Hufflepuff? Lucius will not be happy!" Yawning, she sunk lower into the bed. Fatigue was still dancing over her like in a cartoon where a man has a cloud over his head, Lauren always seemed to be tired lately but whether that was just school or something else, she wasn't sure. Lily mirroed how she was feeling, the covers on Sirius' bed was so warm and she felt nestled in heat and comfort. Yawning again, Lauren blinked rapidly to stop herself falling asleep. "I know," Lily yawned too,"I wonder what she sees in him." Lauren shrugged, too tired to get her mouth to work,"He's not really what I'd call hot. Maybe he's kind?" Nodding, Lauren turned over and wrapped herself in the douvet, if she just closed her eyes to get rid of the mist that had formed over them. Not sleeping. Just closing her eyes. Vaguely, Lauren heard something about the Hufflepuff being ugly but it felt like trying to hear someone when wearing headphones. The voice was so far away, just whispers and the room was slowly disappearing. She tried to keep opening her eyes but it was like trying to remember a dream. And everything faded out. "Er, guys?" Remus said, hours and hours later, ambling back to his bed after helping Peter finish his homework,"We might have a problem." Sirius and James's heads shot up, their eyebrows raised,"Lily and Lauren are asleep." The two boys glanced at their beds, Lauren was cocooned in the prestine, white douvet, one hand was outside the cover, draping across her torso and the other was under the pillow, supporting her head. Lily's hands were crossed at her stomach, it was freaky how much she resembled the way someone posed a dead person in their coffin, her head lolled to the side and her crimson hair contrasted violently with the white pillow. James and Sirius jumped up at once, both of them sprinted to Remus' bed. It was too late when their werewolf friend realised what was going on, James and his friend were sprawlled across his bed, both of them with identical smirks plastered on their faces. "Oh no. I'm not sleeping on the floor!" Remus whined, resembling a tantruming child. Walking across the room again, he went and laid on Peter's bed, smiling apolgetically. Peter got the message straight away, sighing, he picked up some extra pillows and laid them down on the fluffy carpet. It was clear that the small, mousy boy wasn't going to have a goodnights sleep but that couldn't be said for everyone in the dorm that night.

CHAPTER 50: WHOSE BED?!

Monday. Muffled sounds woke Lauren up, it was like being underwater, the sounds were slowed, the voices distorted slightly and the voices were hushed. That couldn't be her dorm. Alex would be shouting, unless it was early, but that still didn't explain why the voices weren't getting any higher in pitch. Fluttering her eyes open, she glanced around the room and discovered that she wasn't in her dorm at all. Or in a girls one. And it definetly wasn't Slytherin considering the hidious colour of the drapes. Rubbing her misted eyes, Lauren yawned and stretched her tired body. "Ah, you're awake," Lauren's teal eyes were still tired, the shapes looked like she'd tried on someone elses glasses, the more she squinted, the more her head hurt. Blinking rapidly, the shapes and colours of the room came into view and so did Sirius Black. The reason she hadn't recognised him immediatly was due to the fact that his voice was still husky and thick with sleep but Lauren found herself thinking about how attractive he sounded. Blushing slightly, she could say it was down to the heat in the room, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and asked the first question that poped into the tired brain. "What time is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes again. Sirius couldn't help but think about how cute she looked at the moment, her teal eyes were still misted with sleep making them look like swirls of blue fog. Lauren really didn't want to leave this bed, she was wrapped in a cocoon of covers and she felt like she was eight years old again, when her mother use to tuck her up. Sirius glanced at the metal clock on the wooden chest of draws near him and he answered, with the calmest voice she'd ever heard. "Eight-thirty." Lauren sighed, pulling the covers around her even more and turning away from him, she had all the intentions of going back to sleep. Unfortunetly, her fatigued mind had slowed down her thought process, the tiredness had clouded her thinking. Too tired to do anything, she thought about what she'd just been told. And it hit. All the tiredness she'd been feeling previously evaporated the minute it clicked. Sitting bolt-up right, the covers sunk down to her waist and the cold air hit. But she had bigger things on her mind then being cold right now. "Eight-thirty?" Lauren asked, an air of disbelief to her voice. Sirius nodded and continued to pack his school bag with the books he'd need for the day. She couldn't believe he was being this calm about it."As in, we have ten minutes until school starts?" Glancing over to the bed next to her, see saw the familair crimson-haired girl still fast asleep, wait until she woke up and found out that they only had ten minutes to get dressed and ready for classes. Although, she had noticed that Lily had become less worried about turning up on time, since she'd started dating James, she'd been late for nearly every History of Magic class. Still, it wasn't as if she was missing out on anything. "That'd be the one," Sirius answered, he was still walking around with half his shirt done up, his tie hung around his neck and no jumper or cloak. Lauren was just glad that he had some trousers on, that wouldn't of been a plesant sight to wake up to. Though her mind questioned whether that was really true or not. Her forehead creased in confusion, how could he be this calm and collected about having only ten minutes, probably eight by now, to get dressed. And then she remembered who she was talking to. Sighing, she flopped back down on the comfy bed once more and collected her thoughts. "And you didn't think to wake me, Oh, I don't know, maybe with less then ten minutes to get ready?!" She asked him, her teal eyes flaring up. Again, she curled the douvet around her body, the warmth felt cosy, like she was sitting in front of the fire on a rainy afternoon. Sirius remained uneffected by the sharp edge to her voice, instead he went about lazily doing up the buttons of his shirt and ambling around the room like he had all the time in the world. He stopped pacing and turned to her. "See, what I don't get is that you seem angry but you're not exactly going out of your way to get up." He commented, his mouth pulling into that lazy smile that she loved to hate. Glaring at him, she realised that he had a point; Lauren had been sat up again but she's flopped back down onto the bed and she wasn't exactly trying to get up. "He's got a point," James said, entering the room. Buttoning up his shirt as he walked, James checked on Lily before grabbing his tie off of the littered floor, though how he knew it was his Lauren had no idea. Glaring at him too, she yawned once more and stretched out. "It's just, well," Lauren considered what she was about to say for a moment, shrugging, she decided that it wouldn't do any harm,"Your bed is really comfy." Sirius' thick, black eyebrows shot up at those words, Lauren rolled her eyes and shrugged at the same time. She had been stupid to think that he'd actually mature and take that sentence any other way. His signiture smirk lit up his face, she felt herself dreading what his next words were going to be. Since everything he said was an inuendo or had some kind of double meaning, all hope evaporated that it might actually be something that corrisponded with his age. "Well, you're welcome anytime," He told her with a wink. Rolling her eyes at him once more, Lauren shook her head slightly and started to think over what she was gonna do. It must've been at least eight-thirty five by now, she suspected it was later but she didn't want to admit that to herself. It was fine for them, they were all in Gryffindor and would be in the same class, she would have to walk into whatever lesson she had first and apologise for being late. But what would she say? "I sincerely hope that you don't mean with you." Lauren shot back, still thinking over what she was going to do in her head. What excuse could she possibly say that wouldn't land her in detention? All she could conjure up was that she overslept or didn't get woken up but then her friends would get into trouble and they'd tell the truth that she wasn't there and she'd get into more shit than she was already in. Groaning, Lauren rubbed her forehead, trying to formulate something that wouldn't sound like an outright lie. But nothing sounded convincing. "Eh, we'll see what happens." He shrugged, striding to the bathroom. Lauren resisted the urge to laugh, she wanted to but she was too tired and too stressed with what kind of trouble she'd be in. Sighing, she racked her brain for something intelligent to say when the teacher asked where she'd been, she wasn't sure that 'Sorry, I feel asleep in Sirius' bed, they didn't wake me up until half past and by the time I got dressed and everything-like that wasn't gonna raise some eyebrows-I was really late. Sorry' "And I thought this day couldn't get any worse!" Just then, Lily stirred in her bed. Her emerald eyes flicked to the clock, that now read eight-thirty-eight and she pratically jumped up. Groaning, Lauren slid out from the comfy covers and stood up, missing the warmth that the douvet provided. "Oi!" Sirius said, poping his head round the bathroom door,"I heard that!" Lily looked utterly confused, while Lauren surpressed a laugh and took to smiling instead. The smile only lasted a second because reality came knocking and she realised that they had two minutes before classes started. Then an idea hit her. Patting herself, she frantically searched for her wand but came up empty. A small 'ah ha' escaped her lips as she found her wand tucked into her converse. Pointing it at the bed, in which she'd just been sleeping, she muttered 'accio Lauren's school uniform, school books and bag'. Silently, all the things she'd asked for appeared on the bed in a split second and a small smile lit up her face. "What are you doing?" Sirius asked, his stormy eyes widening at the things that had just appeared on the bed. Lily was rushing around, muttering things, her crimson hair flying out behind her as she sprinted around the room. "Being clever,"Lauren answered, smirking,"I do it quite a lot." Just then the bell chimed, signalling the start of classes, the smirk vanished from her lips and panic started to set in."Damnit! Can I borrow your shower?" She asked, gathering her books and shoving them into her green, material bag. "Why? You'll never be able to shower and get ready in time. Just get dressed!" James instructed her, picking up her bundle of clothes and holding them out to her. Annoyance replaced the panic, she couldn't believe he was being this stupid. "James, what do I smell like to you?" Lauren asked, her voice as sharp as the blade of a knife. The question took him back a bit, his hazel eyes eyed her cautiously, trying to figure out what she was up to. Shrugging, James edged nearer and did as she instructed. His face lit up into a huge smile and he started laughing. Scowling at him, Lauren took her clothes from his hands. "That's gonna be a tough one to explain," He gasped through his laughter. Rolling her eyes, Lauren walked to the bathroom, still scowling at him and locked the door behind her. James was right, as much as she hated him right now for laughing, she wouldn't be able to get dressed in time for second lesson, let alone first. Sighing, she got dressed as quickly as she could, staring at her reflection in the mirror she scraped back her hair into a pony tail and smelt herself again. 'Damn' she uttered, doing up her top button and tie. After she was dressed and ready, she opened the door and let Lily rush in to get changed, it was clear that the red-head was just as worried about time as she was. "Do you still smell?" James asked, fighting to contain his laughter and risk pissing her off anymore. It was near impossible for him though, she wouldn't be able to pass it off as innocent when people asked her and they'd never believe her. But no one would recognise the scent. Would they?  
"Yes." she sighed,"But we don't have any more time!" Lauren urged, glancing towards the clock. It was nine already and Lily wasn't even dressed yet. James burst into laughter, she tried to fight a smile but everything seemed so petty now. And soon both of them were laughing, Lauren tried to conceal it but it didn't really work. "Let's go!" Lily pratically shouted. Lauren grabbed her material bag, slung it over her shoulder and rushed after Lily down the stairs. The marauders proceeded after, their concept of time clearly wasn't the same as the girls.

9:15 "See ya!" Lauren called, rushing out of the heavy, oak doors and onto the peaceful grounds of the castle. The grass was the perfect shade of olivine, the crimson sun was beating down on her back as she rushed through the grounds towards Herbology, the sky was a clear, topaz colour and the silvery lake was glistening beneath the strong rays of sun. Passing the huge, oak tree that stood by the rippling lake, Lauren hurried her pace, desperate not to miss the whole lesson, as wishing not to be late was a long gone hope. A small breeze swept into her face, the cool air refreshed her tired eyes and seemed to seep down through her skin and into her bones. Suddenly, she felt a lot more relaxed, that was until the green houses came into view. Her heart pounding painfully against her fragile chest, she rushed her pace, heading straight towards her Herbology class, which she was thirty-five minutes late for. Catching her breath, she took one last glance at the citrine sun, the silvery lake and the lush, grass that was the perfect shade of green and slid the glass door open. Luckily the class was turned away from the door, listening to one of their professors lectures, which they always had on single lessons. That made it exceptionally easy to join the back of the class and act like she'd been there all along. Taking a place between Pansy and Blaise, Lauren tried to catch up to what was going on, unaware of the pairs of eyes that were watching her. Pushing her wirey classes up on her plump nose, Professor Salathiel started lecturing them on the dangerous effects of gilleyweed, a smile planted, as ever, on her plump face. Her thoughts drifted to what the marauders and Lily were doing at the moment, whether they got to class on time, whether they got a detention for being late. Lauren could still smell the oder of Sirius on her, and if she could smell it, she was certain that other people could, that would get people asking questions and the last thing she wanted was people asking her if she was sleeping with Sirius. Snapping out of her thoughts, Lauren tried to concentrate on what her teacher was saying but it was like trying to lip read, she was physically exhausted and not looking forward to potions next. That, she could do without. After, what seemed like a lifetime, the bell rang, the chimes reaching every single part of the grand castle. "Lauren!" Rue gasped, turning around and coming face to face with her, not literally as Rue was several inches shorter than her. But the effect was the same. Trying to put her best confused face on, Lauren looked from one shocked face to the other, pretending to have been there all along was going to be tough but she might be able to pull it off. "Er, hey," Lauren greeted, awkwardly, maybe it wouldn't be as easy as she thought to lie to her best friends. Feeling her face heat up, she turned her back to her friends, picked up her olivine bag, slung it over her shoulder and exited the class. The cool breeze on her blushed face was like applying freezing water to sun burn, the blood returned to her lower body again and her friends came running after her. "Miss Colt!" A voice called, snapping her head around, she saw Professor Slughorn striding towards her, his usual pompus aura radiating from him. His floppy, black hair fell into his dull brown eyes as he walked, Lauren internally grimaced as he caught her eye and gestured for her to come over. Sighing, she told her friends to go on to potions without her and prepared herself for what was coming. Not even bothering to send him a fake smile, he stopped infront of her, towering over with his long, skinny frame. "Yes, Professor?" Lauren asked, refusing to meet his dull, chocolate eyes that emitted neither warmth nor malice. His slender frame was draped in long, magenta robes that clashed horribly with his silky, ebony hair. He didn't seem to notice nor mind that he couldn't capture her gaze, thus confirming that he had her attention but carried on speaking, his voice was rather quiet, after all he could barely manage a class, and it always had a husky element like he needed to cough. "I wonder if I might ask you where you were late last night?" His voice was the most irritating thing about him, it made her want to scream at him to cough, the huskyness didn't suit his slightly femine frame and manor. Rolling her eyes subtly, Lauren hated the way he spoke. It wasn't just his voice but he seemed to phrase everything like a question, like this, he said I wondered but the young Slytherin knew that she had no choice. It all seemed pointless and confusing to her. "I was in bed," She answered, shrugging her shoulders at the same time. A thick crease appeared between his bushy, black eyebrows, aging him considerably. His face wore an expression of annoyance, Lauren knew he only bothered to be friendly because of her parents and held no real concern or likeness for her. "In your bed?" Professor Slughorn but an empathsis on the word 'your', it made shivers climb down her spine. He obviously knew that she wasn't in her dorm last night but fear of upsetting her, therefore upsetting her parents and not being friends with one of the most influencial pureblood families, it made her feel slightly nauseous. "I was in a bed," Lauren replied, putting the same empathsis on 'a' that her teacher had put on 'your'. He waited, an expression of patience on his aged face, though what he was waiting for was beyond her. Flicking her eyes around the grounds, she waited for him to break the everlasting silence with some cheesy, teacher quote that people with way too much time on their hands made up. "And which room would this bed be situated in?" He asked, the crease on his forehead deepening. Lauren seriously considered answering with 'I don't know' or some variation but, although she didn't care much for the teacher, she bit back the response. It would give him the wrong impression and he'd only go blabbing to her parents or brothers, anything to get into their good books. She even considered lying, it would be easy enough to get Lily to cover for her but Marlene would jump at the oppertunity to shatter the mirror of lies thus getting back at Lauren and her friends. Sighing, she knew there was only one way; telling the truth. "I was in Sirius Black's bed." Professor Slughorns whole face went cherry red, his dull eyes were suddenly alight and he'd opened and closed his mouth several times, resembling a gold fish, before he actually spoke. His normally composed complextion had been completely erased, he was now flustered, his ears were the same colour as blood and his voice spluttered a couple of times before he could make a compehensible sentence. "And...And was the occupant with you?" Fighting the urge to laugh at the way he'd made it sound so posh, he was basically asking her if she'd slept with Sirius but he made it sound classy, Lauren kept her mouth firmly shut until she could think of a way to answer. The silence seemed to stretch for eternity, her teachers face had cooled slightly, taking on a rosey tinge, but he still wouldn't meet her eyes. "No," She could almost hear the contained breath escape his lips,"He was somewhere else but I don't know where." Professor Slughorn's eyes retreated back inside his head, his skin was almost the same colour as normal and his voice had taken on the calm and soothing tone that he used to talk to his students, it was patronizing to say the least. "Because, you know Lauren," his cheeks heated up again, his ears turning crimson. Internally, she cringed at the use of her first name, he wasn't her friend, she didn't even like him and with his cool, patronizing tone it made her sound about five,"children, teenagers," he corrected himself,"they get to an age where something changes, they change, and something like sleeping in somebody elses bed would appeal to them." Her mouth had nearly dropped open, it was bad enough having this talk from her parents, let alone her teacher, who was now crimson,"And, I'm not going to judge you or yell if that's what happened. Teenagers have needs and-" Lauren couldn't believe what she was hearing, was Professor Slughorn really giving her the 'sex talk' it had been embrassing enough when her parents had tried. She wasn't sure she could ever look into his eyes again. She didn't mean to yell, that wasn't what she'd intended but it was getting way too embrassing and everything had been blown way out of proportion. "STOP!" Lauren flushed bright red at her Professors surprised expression, she cleared her throat awkwardly and continued,"That's not what happened! I accidently fell asleep in their room, I hadn't meant to and nothing happened, apart from me sleeping. Alone." She had suddenly found her feet reallt interesting and had no desire nor want to look into her Professor and head of years face ever again. Clearing his throat too, Professor Slughorn, who was still bright red, smiled at her and ran a hand through his black, silky hair, that fell perfectly back into place. The silence was agonizing, wishing he'd say something, Lauren met his gaze but couldn't hold it. His dull eyes were vacant and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Good. That's good."He rubbed his forehead,"It's just the knight remebered you leaving but not coming back, we were only worried about you. Now, you should probably get to lessons, I don't want to hold you up. Oh, Lauren, I hate to have to do this, considering how much I like you as a student," how much you like my parents rather, she thought,"but it's against Hogwarts rules to venture into someone elses common room or dorm, you have detention. Tonight, my office please." Lauren tried to think of something to say to improve the awkwardness that had fallen upon them but everything would just made it worse, she should just get out of there while she could. It was clear that he ahd nothing more to say to her, his tone had an element of finality about it. A curt nod from Lauren and she was rushing back across the lush, green grounds, not daring to look back. She couldn't remember ever being in a conversation that awkward and was eternally greatful that it was over. Without a second glance, she ascended the grey, stone steps and crossed the threshhold between the castle and its grounds.

The journey to Potions was agonizingly quiet, she was use to students pushing, shoving, shouting, talking, basically doing anything but walking silently and sensibly. But that was how she liked it. The silence allowed her thoughts to rome, it allowed her to think over the events that had just happened and all that she kept thinking was how Professor Slughorn had said the word 'detention', it was as though it physically pained him, as though, as he said the word a knife was glided along his hand. Lauren thought how stupid it was, getting set a detention for something that accidently happened, although she'd walked into the common room, she hadn't fallen asleep on purpose. Her thoughts soon evaporated like a puddle in the sun as she approached the tall, grand door that led to her potions class. Taking a deep breath, Lauren seized the round, brass door knob and flicked her wrist gently. As with most potion classes, they were doing a pratical that meant that she didn't recieve the looks that she and others did when they walked in late, it was the look you'd give someone who'd just killed five people. Slipping through desks and cauldrons, Lauren crossed the room, heading for Professor Greyson, who gave her a friendly beam as he always did. His crimson robes blended in perfectly with whatever potion he had been brewing at the front, his chocolate eyes full of nothing but warmth. "We're brewing what ever potion you'd like to," he told her when she neared him,"Just join a group and catch up." That was it. No shouting for being late, no accusing stare or mutter, just plain instructions. Nodding, Lauren smiled at him once more and made her way back across the classroom, heading for Rue and Alex, who'd caught her eye and frantically wave her to come over. Without warning, someone grabbed her pale wrist and yanked her over to their cauldron. Slightly confused, Lauren's teal eyes connected with emerald green and realisation set it. "Pansy! What in the name of Selzar Slytherin are you doing?!" Lauren hissed, rubbing her wrist where Pansy's iron grip had been. Rolling her eyes, Pansy picked up an emerald textbook and thrust it towards the teal-eyed girl. Glancing down, Lauren saw that the creamy page was bookmarked on a felix potion, not trying to brag but she could've done that in her sleep, to be honest. "WE'RE brewing felix potion,"she told her friend, a sly smile on her face."And anyway, what in the name of Selzar Slytherin am I doing? What in the name of Selzar Slytherin are you doing?"Lauren shot her a confused look as she picked up the razor-sharp knife and started cutting up the root that was to go in their potion,"Oh, don't give me that look! YOU didn't sleep in your own bed last night." Grimacing, Lauren added the root to the bubbling, violet potion and started chopping up a mint leaft, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up her once pale cheeks. "Somewhere else," she shrugged, chopping the mint up finer than it needed to be,"And anyway-" Lauren stopped mid-sentence, there was something bright red on Pansy's neck and it looked suspiciously shaped. Seeing Lauren's teal eyes on her neck, Pansy blushed, pulled up her shirt collar and concentrated back on the potion, not speaking for a few minutes. Unable to contain her laughter any more, Lauren started chuckling lightly, trying to conceal it by burrying her nose in the emerald textbook. Suddenly, something very hard and heavy collided with the back of Lauren's head, a loud 'thump' emitted from their corner of the room. Her hand immediatly shot to the back of her head, a look of annoyance and amusment on her face. "What's going on back there, girls?" Professor Greyson asked, stretching his neck to get them into his line of view. Both of them stayed silent, Lauren still rubbing the back of her head. Shaking his head at them, their professor turned back to who he was helping and the conversations resumed once more. "You hit me with a textbook!" Lauren accused, sliding the mint leaf of the chopping board and into the violent potion, that was slowly turning the shade of navy blue that they were aiming for. Pansy shrugged, a sly smile plastered across her face. Glaring at her potions partner, Lauren turned back to her chopping, the back of her head still throbbing where the book had come into contact with it. Suddenly the constant smacking of the blade against plastic stopped, Pansy turned abruptly to her friend, her nose wrinkled. "Lauren?" Mmm, was all she got out of the girl, who was evidently still angry with the emerald-eyed girl,"You smell." She stopped chopping immediatly, her head shooting up. A crease formed inbetween her eyebrows, Lauren wasn't sure whether Pansy was just trying to wind her up even more or whether she was being truthful. But one glance at her fellow Slytherin's wrinkled nose confirmed that she was telling the truth."You smell like..." Pansy clicked her fingers,"Lynx!" A blush was slowly making its way up her cheeks, Lauren didn't think that anyone was notice, she didn't thing it was pungent enough. But apparently it was. Clearing her throat, she racked her brain for a subject to talk about, she didn't want to explain why she smelt like lynx, to Pansy of all people! "Enough about me," Lauren said, adding a gloopy, yellow liquid to the brew and trying to deflect the conversation from her,"Want to expand on the identity of bitey boy?" She asked, adding a playful wink at the end of the sentence. Blushing, Pansy shook her head slightly, pouring a rose-pink, thin liquid into the now-navy potion. Grabbing a silver ladel, Lauren gently stirred the potion while keeping her eyes fixed on her blushing friend, whoever this guy was, she needed to find out. "He's just," Pansy sighed, pretending to consult the textbook by running her finger along the creamy page,"Just some guy." Rolling her eyes, Lauren decanted some of the navy blue potion into a small, glass vile. She didn't believe for one minute that this was just some guy, Pansy seemed pretty determind to keep his identity a secret, for whatever reason, and something told her that she wasn't going to give in easily. Writing P&L on a sticker, Lauren stuck it to the vile filled with the felix potion and set it down on the wooden desk. "Just some guy that you break curfew for?" She asked, her eyebrows raised questioningly. Pansy averted her gaze, scanning the textbook again in an attempt to not capture Lauren's gaze. "Viles in please!" Professor Greyson called,"I'll collect them at the front here!" Grabbing the glass vile containing the navy liquid, Lauren strode to the front of the class and placed it in the metal holder, smiling at her professor as she did. "Miss Colt?" Professor Greyson asked, turning to face him, she raised her eyebrows,"I don't want to sound rude or anything but you sort of smell," he searched for the right word,"strange." Lauren heard someone chuckling behind her, guessing it was James, she scowled at the Gryffindor and walked back to her friends, who were waiting by the door. "Lauren," Alex started, her voice quivering slightly,"I don't want to sound rude or anything-" Scowling, Lauren walked through the high, marble door frame, which reflected tiny rays of citrine sun. "I get it! I smell!" And with that, she stormed down the unlit, dingy corridor, and out into the grand hall.

CHAPTER 51: BUSTED

Lauren felt an overwelming greatfulness when she entered the dorm and could shower, she'd been getting comments all day about the smell that was omitting off of her. Knowing full well what it was, she had been eager all day to shower and wash every whift of the lynx off. She washed three times and scrubbed until all of the skin on her body was a pinky/red and her fingers were wrinkled like prunes. The towel felt soft and fluffy against her skin as she studied her sopping-wet, straggly hair in the fogged-up mirror. Wiping the surface to make it clearer, she started to brush the wavy strands and got dressed. Something was off. There wasn't any noise coming from the dorm, no scuffling, no bangs, not even murmers. Leaning against the rough wood, her ear pressed tightly up to the oak, she listened carefully; again, no noise. Frowning, she got dressed, tied her wet hair in a messy bun and ventured out into the silent room. Alex and Rue were sitting on her bed, their eyes wide and their eyebrows raised. A piece of expensive parchment in their hands. "Guys?" Lauren asked, her voice soft. Slowly, she started walking towards them, the anicent floorboards creaking as she took a new step. Her new clothes were clinging to her damp body but she didn't notice, something was definetly up with her friends. "How could you not tell us?!" Alex accused, her eyes flaring. She'd looked up with fury in her sky eyes, a fury that Lauren had never seen before. Feeling her mind race, Lauren darted her aquamarine eyes from the creamy paper to Alex's furious face. And it clicked. "Alex, please. I can explain everything!" She exclaimed, her hands held up. Taking a step back, Lauren felt her eyes lower the floor as if some powerful force had pushed them down, secrets really didn't last long at Hogwarts. Cursing herself, she sighed, Lauren should've known that it would come out in the end. She should've told them. Alex nodded, signalling for her to sit down, Rue looked angry but hurt too and that stung Lauren worse than anger. Sitting crossed-legged, Lauren stroked the rough, wooden floor as she spoke. "It all started the year I was signed to the TT, it was the summer that I met him. From the start we became best friends, we just clicked, you know?" Lauren shot her eyes up but didn't wait for a response,"It didn't take long before our feelings became more than friendly, I'm sure people worked it out easily enough but either they didn't care or they were just too polite to mention it. Anyway, the summer was over much too soon and that's when he told me. He was going to Durmstrang and I would be attending Hogwarts, there was no way it could work out between us. So, we broke up."Alex opened her mouth to speak but Lauren shook her head sharply,"That's not where it ends. I know that's what the letter implies but he's smarter than you think, he considered that someone might find the letter and no one knows what happened next." Alex closed her mouth and nodded,"He contacted me a little while after I started first year, I still had feelings for him and Alex convinced me to give it another try." Alex and Rue's eyes widened in surprised but they still didn't say anything,"We dated," Lauren cleared her throat and tried to get rid of the blush,"Until the middle of last year, where I broke it off. It's needless to say that Quidditch season was a little awkward. I didn't tell anyone about the letter because then I would have to reveal everything and I've never told anyone..." she sighed,"It would just get really awkward." A silence greeted her as she finished speaking, Lauren's eyes were glued to the floor now, she didn't want to see the hurt and anger in her best friends' eyes. No one moved, it didn't even sound like they were breathing, nothing broke the silence that was stretching out like an ocean. The silence was worse than anything, Lauren wished that they would shout at her, yell what a bad friend she was but the stunned silence implied that they had nothing to say. "Lauren," Rue breathed, her bottom lip trembling,"How, how could you not have told us?" Her huge. brown eyes were filled with hurt and she couldn't bare to look into them, Lauren felt guilty enough as it was. "Rue," Alex whispered, placing a hand on the younger girls arm and smiling. Soon, the smile vanished and she turned back to Lauren,"I understand why you didn't tell us about the past. There was no point," Lauren's eyebrows shot uo but she didn't say anything,"But this letter," she waved it for emphasis,"Why not about this? You wouldn't of had to tell us about the past, you could've lied. But we found this by ourselves, by accident, and what hurts the most is that we had to find out. On our own." "I know, and I am sorry. It's not that I didn't want to tell you guys, it's just that I didn't know what to do with the letter!" Lauren admitted,"I don't even know how to reply! I mean, I don't want to date him but how can I say that without it ruining our friendship?" Alex tilted her head to the side, her blond curls falling over one shoulder, as if she was considering Lauren's words, trying to seek the truth out. reu, on the other hand, looked completely reassured by her best friends words, a smile creeping up on her lips. "Lauren, why do you keep lying to us?" Alex asked,"You almost never tell us all of your secrets, we're always honest with you!" Lauren opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, her friends were right; she always kept things from them but they always forgave her. "I know! I know that If there was an award for worst best friend I'd get it! But, the thing is that I don't know how to tell you! I only keep these secrets because I don't know how to say it. And, I am sorry, If you forgive me this one time, I promise to never keep a secret from you guys again." Lauren said, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. Alex started smiling, the anger disappearing from her sky eyes, Rue smiled too, her eyes filling with warmth again."Thank you guys! Did I ever tell you how much I love you?!" Alex and Rue laughed, beaming. Now, lets go get dinner!" She exclaimed, jumping up and pratically bounding over to the dorm door. "Wait! Alex called, Lauren spun round, her eyebrows raised,"Who do you fancy?" Lauren sighed, she was beginning to regret the whole honesty promise."Kidding, let's go eat!" Alex said, seeing how unnerved her best friend was by the question.

After dinner, Lauren was crossing the marble entrance hall, which glistened in the moonlight, when a voice stopped her. "Can we talk?" Sirius asked, his voice deep and husky, he was obviously tired. Grimacing, Lauren nodded and they walked down into the dungeons together, stopping just outside an abandonedn classroom, where she knew no one would walk past. "What's up?" Lauren asked, trying to look anywhere but his eyes. She thought she kept up quite a good facade around school but with him this close and them all alone, she wasn't sure if she could keep the act up. "Well, you know the letter?" her eyebrows pulled together,"The letter that Alex found..."Lauren's eyes flared and her cheeks flushed,"She came to us before she spoke to you, I'm guessing you guys worked it all out and everything but I was just wondering why you didn't tell us?" Lauren felt anger rush through her, this offten happened when she became defensive. Why did Alex go and asked the marauders and Lily? Sighing, she shuffled her feet and took a deep breath. "Listen, no offence or anything, but I really don't see what this has got to do with you." She replied, rolling her eyes at him. His stormy eyes narrowed and she could tell that this 'chat' was going to end with a blazing argument. "Well, maybe you're going to tranfer to Durmstrang or something to be with him." Sirius snapped, his fingers clenching together. Narrowing her own, teal ones, Lauren pushed her chestnut hair back as she felt her cheeks heating up. "Don't be stupid! Alex is in my past, we're in the present, in case your hadn't noticed!" Lauren snapped back, she thought that these arguments were over long ago, but apparently not. "I just don't see why you haven't said anything before! He's obviously very important to you-" "No!" Lauren interupted,"He was important to me! I loved him. Past tense!" Those words cut Sirus like a knife; it was common knowledge that he'd been with most girls in Hogwarts but he'd never thought or speculated that she could've been in a relationship like that. She'd loved him."Now, if you're done shouting accusations at me, I'm tired and I'd like to get to bed. You know, I thought we were past these stupid arguments but apparently not!" She yelled, walking towards the Slytherin common room,"You know what? Don't even bother talking to me anymore! I'm so done with you!" "Good! I don't even want to talk to you!" he yelled back, walking in the opposite direction to the entrance hall,"I don't even wanna be friends anymore! It's lucky we have the day off tomorrow otherwise I'd have to sit next to you in class!" Sirius finished, and he disappeared into the bright, entrance hall. Fuming, Lauren stormed back to her dorm, annoyed at both herself and him; they'd had another pointless argument. That night, both got into bed deeply regretting what they'd said. Lauren continued to think over and over about the words shouted, until sleep claimed her.

When Lauren woke the whole dorm felt like it was on fire, sweat trickled down her forehead and her head was spinning and throbbing. Bright, citrine line was pouring through the window and laying on the room like a halo on top of an angels head and the sky was a perfect topaz blue. Kicking the covers off of her body, she massaged her forehead as she got up and walked over to the square mirror that was glued onto their wall. Her hair was flicky but gold streaks shone in the light, her blue eyes looked bright and alert and her skin was a sickly pale that she was all too use to. Stretching, Lauren grabbed an old pair of scruffy jeans, a few places were slightly ripped, they were far too big and drowned her legs, a plain, black short sleved top and yanked some lace up boots from under her bed, hitting her head on the wooden frame and cussing. Lauren pulled on her clothes and shoes, brushed her hair and headed out of the dorm. Too tired to notice anything, she trudged down the marble stairs, squinting her tired eyes as the sunlight bounced off of them, and strode into the dark common room, which was pratically empty apart from a couple of first years. "Have you just woken up?" One of them asked her. A girl with long, silky ebony hair and merky, brown eyes turned to look at her, a friendly smile planted on her full, pink lips. "Er, yeah. Why?" Lauren asked, rubbing her eyes. "Because it's two in the afternoon! Everyones gone to lunch," The girl told her, still smiling. "Hey, er, you know Regulus right?" the girl nodded,"Was he here?" "Yeah actually. He seemed a bit annoyed and I saw him chatting to that girl with the curly, blond hair," "Alex?" The girl nodded once again. "Oh, yeah, we were suppose to hang out today." Lauren was speaking more to herself than to the girl. "But Alex wouldn't do whatever he wanted and he went off with that other boy. You know the one that all the older girls like." "Barty?" "Yeah, him." "Well, thanks. It's Lintley right?" She nodded, her silky hair shining in the strong sun. "Thanks Lintley."  
"No problem," Lintly replied, smiling. Lauren smiled at her and crossed the common room, amazed at how quiet the whole place was. When the portraite whole swung open, Lauren saw the one person she really didn't want to and scowled. "What, Sirius?" she asked, a bored tone to her voice. "I was just wondering why you weren't with your little boyfriend," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Who exactly would that be?" Lauren asked, her patience draining quickly. "Regulus," he shrugged,"or maybe that person you were talking to last night." "Whatever, I don't have time for your immature comments today. I'm late."  
"For Regulus?"  
"As a matter of fact, yes. Now, move please?" Sirius didn't move though, his stormy eyes hardened and looked cold. "Urgh, I don't want to talk to you now." Lauren dug her shoulder into his arm and pushed past, rolling her eyes at him. And for the rest of the day she didn't, she wouldn't even look at him but she had no idea what was about to happen.

Lauren was standing in the lit, marble entrance hall, talking to Alex and Rue, silohuetted by the silver moonlight. Students were wating to enter the great hall for dinner, the smells of delicious foods wafting and filling the nostrils of hungry pupils, dancing around in the air. The tall, wooden doors ominiously closed, like the hall was sealed off and it was a forbidden place, the wood looked worn and shabby with the iron handles pertruding like hands, pushing students back. Pellets of moonlight were refracting off the pink marble and hitting the staircase and people, a silver mist was pouring through the stain-glass windows, draping everyone and everything inside the room. Out of the corner of her teal, twinkling eyes, she could see Sirius Black standing with his fellow marauders, she hadn't spoken to him for over a week and she couldn't put what she felt about it into words has hard as she tried, she hated him, but she didn't, it was difficult and even she was having trouble understanding it, which was a new sensation for her. Lauren's glossy, chestnut hair fell down her back like a sheet of silk, reflecting the silvery rays, her teal eyes twinkled under the glow of the candles and her face looked pale an sculpted. She missed him, she missed her best friend more than anything, it was like a part of her had gone and nothing could fill it again, except for him but if he didn't hate her before, he did now. Lauren sighed as she noticed how attractive he looked, his angelic features were draped in a ghostly mist, his eyes weren't just stormy, a layer of mist had appeared between his pupil and his lids, his black hair framed his face perfectly, his angular chin looked chistled and his body looked lanky and tall but muscly and toned, like always. This seperation was torturious, they'd always been close, they'd never fought, ever, and now look, they weren't even speaking. Guilt washed over her as she remembered how horrible she'd been to him, snapping, arguing, using a voice she never thought she would have to use for him, her best friend, 'some best friend she was,' she thought and scoffed. This thing, whatever it was, had hurt her more than anything she thought could be possible, it was like she was being kicked in the chest, over and over again, no sign of stopping, or slowing, no mercy. At the beginning of the year, everything was fine, she was packing to come back to school, how had things spiralled this quickly? Jealousy. It was pure, it was like a pure hatred, but not hate, longing, wishing. Her teal eyes had glazed over, looking like blue glass, luckily there was only a scattering of people, not even ten, and that included the marauders, Lily, Lauren, Rue and Alex, she was lost in her thoughts, like she was swimming around in a lake but it was a lake of her feelings and thoughts, a lake that didn't make much sense. Nothing made much sense anymore, she'd be in class and a thought would zoom through her head, it was always about him, always a thought about how perfect he was and it hurt her, she was terrified of feeling this way, one wrong word, one wrong action and Sirius could break her heart. He had much more power over her than he could ever think, ever understand, he could hurt her more than she'd ever been, the worst part was; he didn't even know it. A gust of bitter, evening air swept through the doors leading to the dark, shadowed Hogwarts grounds, Lauren, Alex and Rue were standing right by them, making the hairs on Lauren's arms prickle and goosebumps climb up them. Her pale face began to tingle and her tawny hair was swept back over her robed shoulders. Hugging herself for warmth, she glanced towards the wooden doors longingly. "I need to talk to you," a familiar voice came, he sounded close, he also sounded stern. Rolling her eyes at nothing in particular, as she hadn't bothered to turn around, Lauren sighed. "No," she told him, her voice icy and as stern as his had been. Their conversations were always like this, he would ask to talk to her, she would refuse, that's how it was, how do you tell someone you hate them because you love them? How do you get them to understand? "It wasn't a question," he matched her icy voice and the sterness had seemed to rise, she imagined he was scowling but she still hadn't turned around, it was a lot easier this way. In one clean swoop, he'd picked her up and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. She kicked him as hard as she could but his black, school robe, that smelt amazing, was muffling her angry shouts. He was striding out of the hall and a gust of cool, icy wind alerted Lauren that he had carried her outside, his shoulder bone was jutting into her stomach and as much as she tried to squirm, his iron tight grip wouldn't losen, even when she kicked him with all her strength. "MR BLACK! Please put Miss Colt dow-" Professor MaGonagal had appeared, her lips were stretched into a thin line and she was scowling. She was about to scream at him but she'd stopped mid-sentence and waved her hand, as if dismissing it and strode into the grand hall that was emitting a warm, delicious smell. "I thought they hated each other," Rue commented to Alex as she stared at where they had just left, her chocolate eyes wide with shock.  
"Nah, he doesn't," a cocky voice came, Rue spun around in time to see James Potter wink at her and disappear into the hall with Lily. Back outside, Lauren was yelling at Sirius to let her go and flailing her arms against his sides, which seemed to be really weak or he was ingnoring them, he carried on striding across the moonlit grounds, silver was draping the lush, apple grass and tinging it with a ghostly glow. The icy wind was biting at Lauren's face and engulfing her in tongues of ice, her arms were prickled with goosebumps and she tried to pull her robe tighter around her body, which she couldn't do because Sirius' grip was literally like iron. Feeling her ears numb, she lashed out, kicking him as hard as she could, she wasn't sure exactly where the blow was aimed, but he just carried on walking, holding her over his shoulder like she weighted nothing, like she was as light as a feather. The constant change of level of the ground meant that his shoulder kept hitting different places in her stomach, making her wince in pain, they were short, sharp blows but they jabbed her insides. Wriggling some more, she thought she felt his grip losen slightly and wondered what he was up to, she hadn't had any effect on him before, why was it different now? Anger was flooding through her, surging from her stomach and reaching out like tree branches to the rest of her body. He'd stopped abruptly, Lauren thought she could hear rippling, or dripping, crashing? She felt herself drop, her stomach dropped at she was looking into the smirking face of the person she loved, she was secretly impressed with his strength and the misty look in his eyes. Sirius was now holding her in a baby carry, his muscly arms supporting under her arms and under her knees, she scowled at him, her teal eyes flickering with fury. "Stop being mad at me or you'll go in the lake," he told her, an arrogance to his voice. Confusion washed over her, the rippling, the dripping, the crashing, it all made sense. She was being held over the lake. "Stop being mad at you?!" Lauren spat in disbelief and at these words she felt his arms drop slightly and his smirk grew. Instinctively, she enterwined her hands around his neck and nestled into his chest, she secretly enjoyed it but kept the scowl in place. "Are you hugging me?" Sirius asked, he winked at her and smirked at the same time. "No, just don't drop me in the lake, It's gonna be freezing," Lauren mumbled, her grip tightening. "I won't but promise you're not mad at me?" he replied, his face growing serious and his smirk turning into a smile. "Fine but please put me down," she mumbled in response, loosening her grip around his neck. "Sure," he shrugged, placing her back onto the ground. As soon as her feet had touched the lush, apple grass, her pale hand had hit him as hard as she could on the arm and she scowled again. "Ow!" Sirius complained, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him, his eyes misty. Striding over to the tree, it was silohuetted against the jade grass, she slid down the trunk until she was perched underneath. Holding her head in her hands, she heard footsteps creep around the back of the tree and saw a shadow dancing across the silvery water. Lifting her head, she saw Sirius sit crossed-legged next to her, his chistled features draped in silver looking angelic. "I am sorry but you wouldn't talk to me," he told her, his stormy eyes full of honesty, his perfect lips smoothed out. "You did all that just because I wouldn't talk to you, just because our friendship was temporarily over?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes twinkling like the stars above their heads. "Lauren, you think I would, in essence, kidnapp you just because we weren't friends? No, it's more than that, it's always been more than that," Sirius replied, his cheeks blushing slightly, he fixed his grey eyes on the rippling lake. "What do you mean?" Lauren asked, all the hatred had left her voice, it was soft, kind, how it had always been. "We've always been more than friends, we'll I've always wanted us to be," he admitted, the blush increasing. "I'm really confused," Lauren complained,"and I don't often say that," Sirius laughed, new crevices appearing. "No, I think this is the first time I've heard you say that," "Why did you do all this? Why did you kidnapp me and threaten to throw me into the lake?" Lauren asked, turning serious again. "Because, because, I love you," he mumbled, his cheeks turning the colour of rising sun. Lauren's mind wasn't working, everything was blending together, merging and nothing made sense, her heart was beating unnaturally fast and all she could do was stare, wordless. "What?" Lauren breathed, her chest aching with the constant inhale of cold air. "I don't know why I did what I did in the entrance hall but I had to tell you, it felt like..."  
"Like a constant weight on your chest?" Lauren asked and smirked as Sirius turned, his eyes wide in shock. "Lauren?" "Yes, Sirius?" "Since we're being honest, why are you mad at me?" he asked. "Were," she corrected and smiled. She sighed and blushed,"jealousy," she mumbled. "Jealousy? I don't get it," Sirius told her frowning. "Well, when I came back after Christmas, I walked into the entrance hall and, er, yeah, you were talking," Lauren mumbled, her cheeks glowing bright red. "I was talking...to those girls," he mused,"you were jealous?" he asked smirking. "Shut up," she muttered, staring at the grass. "I was jealous, since we're being honest and everything," he admitted, no trace of a blush, she resented him for that.  
"Of what?" she asked, her eyes shining underneath the silver moonlight. "Regulus, you're always joking and laughing and having fun, it's really frustrating to watch," "That is what best friends do," she told him and laughed. "There's really nothing else between you guys?" Sirius asked. "Nah, we'll always be good friends, we just click, you know? But I could never see myself dating him, it'd be too forced, we work as best friends but nothing more," Lauren explained, feeling the blush fade. "Well, I was wondering, if, you know, you'd like to, to, be my, girlfriend?" Sirius had to force himself to choke the last word out, his cheeks immediately flared red and he stared out into the silver, silky water. Lauren felt her heart literally stop, she'd almost choked on her own saliva, among all of this she'd forgot to breath. Feeling her body demanding for air, she inhaled sharply and the cold, winter air sent shooting pains to her chest. "What's the point? C'mon Sirius, everyone knows you're a player," Lauren didn't know what had possesed her to say this, it was like the syllables and words rolled off her tongue, not passing through her brain. "What do you mean?" Sirius asked, his voice full of hurt. "Your longest relationship has lasted, what, a week? That's not exactly a record and they've all ended up hurt," Lauren blurted out, everything she'd felt, everything she'd thought, it was all pouring out, like water down a waterfall. "You think that, that I would hurt you?" He asked, disbelief washing over his perfect features. Lauren just sat, sat while the wind whistled through her chestnut hair, while Sirius looked at her, his misty eyes wide and his angelic features contorted into astonishment, while the slilvery water rippled and glistened beneath the pouring moonlight. It was true, she was convinced he was going to hurt her, all the feelings, they were too strong for her own good. Silence. She couldn't find the courage to answer, to tell him that was exactly what she thought, to admit that she didn't want to get hurt. Instead, she glued her twinkling, teal eyes to the lake and didn't meet his stormy gaze. "Lauren," his breath tickled her frozen ear, he couldn't be more than an inch away but this only infuriated Lauren more. "You see!" she exploded, jumping up,"That's the flirty you, not the proper you!" Lauren stormed off and sat down right on the edge of the lake, the water lapping up against the side and touching the tips of her shoes, the lake rippling and gleeming. Sirius was still sat by the tall, rustling tree in shock, absorbing what Lauren had said. Meanwhile, Lauren was staring out onto the silver lake, not completely sure why she was still here, she could get up, run back to the castle, forget this ever happened but something was rooting her here, urging her to stay, the moment she left, that would be it, their friendship would be torn apart. Blinking furiously, she tried to stop the tears from falling down her face. The water slapping against the back sounded like a dog lapping up water from its bowl, the leaves on the trees were rusting and Lauren swore she could hear her own heart beat. Sirius didn't know what he could say, she'd obviously decided that he was a player and at that moment he cussed himself, for every stupid kiss in that stupid broomcloset, for every pathetic snog behind the stupid Quidditch Pitch, if she rejected himself, it would be no ones fault but his own. "Lauren-" "Save it, Sirius," she injected, her voice breaking and a salty tear escaping her eye. Kicking the ground with all her strengh, she hated herself for crying in front of him, she didn't even know what she was crying about. Sirius hated himself, he'd hurt her, the one thing he'd never wanted to do and, as usual, he'd been a pratt and done it. "Lauren-"  
"I really don't want to hear it!" Lauren snapped, forcing her legs to stride across the silver grounds with Sirius staring after her. This was it, now or never, ask her now or watch her fall in love with someone else. Sirius chose. Lauren had only walked a few paces when he caught up, grabbing her pale wrist, her spun her around and held her with his iron grip. "Let go of me!" Lauren demanded, her voice breaking again and a tear slipping down her frozen cheek. Sirius wiped it away with his soft touch, using the top of his thumb and smiled at her. "You can go, if when I've told you what I want to and you still feel that way, then you can go," he breathed, his gentil voice tickling her frozen, pale face. She stopped struggling with his tight grip and looked up into his eyes, diamond teal into stormy grey and her stomach fluttered. "Please just come back to the lake, just hear me out and then, then if you still feel the same way, you can leave," he promised, leading her by the hand back to the tree. Lauren sat crossed-legged, turning to face him completely as the icy wind bite her pale face. "What, Sirius?" She asked, her teal eyes twinkling. "You know when you love someone so much it actually hurts but it's not physical, you can't just heal the wound, like its emotional? With all those girls I never felt that, there was no bond or connection, I never felt guilty about what I did to them but with you, it was a different story all together-"  
"See? I'm just going to be another girl to you, another person whose heart you're going to break and you can't even see it!" Lauren burst, desperatly trying to hold back her tears,"you take innocent girls and turn them into something they're not!" she accused. "Lauren, you're not! You're not any other girl okay? I don't know, it's like when you walk into a room I suddenly care, I care how I act or what I say or If you don't like what we're up to, it's just all about you!" Sirius gushed, feeling his cheeks turning red with every sentence but he didn't care because she finally knew. Lauren just sat there, stunned into silence, watching moonlight draping his perfect features. "Sirius-"  
"Lauren, I promise you that I won't even look at another girl if you don't want me to, I won't talk to any girls if you ask me not to, I will sit no closer than three seats away at the Gryffindor table, I won't sit next to any girl in class if she isn't you, I'll ignore all the girls in Gryffindor house when they talk to me, I won't help them, I won't speak, I'll just walk away when they start to talk to me, I'll stay well clear of them all, from first years to seventh, I'll even break my friendship with Lily off," Sirius told her, his stormy eyes full of truth, no arrogance, no cockyness, just the truth,"Because I don't want all of them, I don't want all those girls if it means loosing you," Sirius admitted, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks but he didn't care; all that mattered to him was that Lauren knew, she knew the truth. "Sirius," Lauren's voice was kind and gentil once again,"I would never ask you to do that, you can be friends with whoever you want and I have no power to stop you," The wind gushed against her pale face, she hugged her legs to her chest for warmth. "What about us?" Sirius asked, proping himself up on his elbows and laying on the apple grass. Lauren just sat there, wordless, Lauren and Sirius, the golden girl and bad boy Black, best friends, what were they? "I have no idea," she admitted, pulling her knees closer and nestling her head into them. "I, I love you, Lauren," Sirius stumbled, smiling shyly and blushing. "Look-"  
"I'm serious!" he exclaimed, Lauren started giggling, trying to conceal them by laughing into her knees but it wasn't working. Sirius smirked and then laughed too, the two of them sat there for ages just laughing, each of them realising just how much they really cared for the other. Lauren sighed, snuggling into her knees. Sirius shuffled closer, both of them leaning against the sturdy, bark trunk of the rustling tree, she made no attempt to move. "You could've picked somewhere warmer," Lauren complained, pulling her black, school robe closer. "I didn't really know where I was going," Sirius admitted, turning his head towards her. "Great plan, I'm so glad you put your braincell to work," Lauren rolled her eyes but her face broke into a smile. "Shut up, Lauren!" Sirius shot back, returning her smile. "Nah, not gonna do that," Lauren told him. "You're not too cold are you? Because we could go back inside the castle," He offered, though he didn't sound like he liked that idea very much. "No, I don't want to go back inside," She admitted, feeling blood rising to her cheeks. Sirius noticed it too, and brushed his gentil, soft fingers lightly against one, making the blush increase. "Don't do that!" she shouted, hitting his hand away. "I'm sorry," he gasped through his laughter. Lauren felt her own mouth pulling up and hated herself for smiling at him, "I hate you," She groaned, turning her back to him and folding her arms across her chest. "Please, let's not do that again," Sirius said, his voice full of sorrow and hurt, it made Lauren turn around, even though she didn't want to and her own teal eyes filled with sadness. Lauren couldn't find anything to console him, what she'd done was horrible and she truely regretted it, nothing could explain, no words would even began to apologise for what she'd put him through and she decided, then and there, that she wouldn't hurt him anymore. Lauren didn't say anything, she just let the silence fill them both, churning everything over in her mind, deciding. "Lauren, I-" He was cut off by a pair of warm, moist lips crashing down on his own, it felt like electricity was flowing through his vanes, he hadn't expereinced that before, it felt like they were emitting sparks, locked together. Sirius started to kiss back, this felt nothing like when he'd kissed anyone else, these feelings were entirely new but it felt right, like they belonged together. When they parted, Lauren whispered "I'm really sorry," over and over again, until they'd both caught their breath and the kissing resumed. They stayed up until gone midnight, just talking, talking about random things, Lauren held in his arms, leaning against his strong, muscly chest. "You know Fred said if I hurt you, he'll break my face," Sirius whispered into her silky, chestnut hair. Lauren tilted her head up, gazing right into his stormy eyes. "What? They knew?" She asked, her perfectly plucked eyebrows raised. "Oh, when you were ill," he quoted with his fingers,"we snuck into your room-" "What? Wait, we?" Lauren quizzed. "I kind of took prongs with me," He mumbled, looking down. "You dragged James along with you, while you snuck into a Slytherin girls dorm?" She asked,"Pratt," she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Hey! I am not! Anyway, yeah, they found us and quizzed me about it," Sirius mumered, smiling slightly. "I see your braincell was put to work then as well," she teased, rolling her eyes. "You're suppose to be nice to me now!" he accused. "Yeah, I'm not doing that," She replied, giggling. "Fine," Sirius rolled his eyes and Lauren smirked. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" "Did you just smirk?" "No! I didn't smirk!" Lauren lied, looking at the apple grass. They countinued talking until about three in the morning, when Lauren had fallen asleep against Sirius' chest and he thought she should get at least some sleep. The wind was blowing more forcefully, he could feel Lauren's goosebumps underneath her robe and smiled slightly as her teeth began to chatter. "Wake up, Lauren," he shook her gently and her eyes fluttered open. "Huh?" she asked, rubbing her eyes,"I'm sorry," she apolgised, slumping back against the tree. "Don't be, you're actually quiet when you sleep," he joked, poking her in the ribs. "I'm gonna hex you tomorrow," Lauren replied, poking her tongue out at him. Standing up, she shivered as the wind hit her frozen body and yawned. "Tomorrow should be fun, telling everybody," he commented as they walked back through the moonlight soaked grounds. "Urgh, I'm gonna have to tell Regulus," Lauren groaned, without thinking. When silence fell she realised her mistake,"Sorry!" she blurted out, slapping her forehead,"didn't think." "It's alright, does this mean I have to be pollite, because I'm not," Sirius told her. "No, just don't yell insults at him, please," Lauren asked, smiling innocently. "We'll see,"

Later in the marauders dorm.

Sirius clutched the cool, brass handle, he'd just left Lauren in the entrance hall and climbed up Gryffindor tower, it sounded stupid but he'd missed her already. He pushed. Three pairs of eyes met him as he entered the dorm; warm hazel, dull brown and gold flecked honey, ignoring his friends stares, he crossed the room and collapsed on his bed draped with crimson curtains. Yawning, he curled up and was almost asleep when something pelted his face, it felt soft and squidgy but he was too tired to care. Turning over, her was almost asleep again when three objects hit him in different places, something hard and mettalic hit his leg and it stung. "Ouch. Go away," He groaned, curling up as tight as possible. "No, tell us what happened," James demanded, lobbing a lamp at Sirius' head, it missed by mere inches. "In morning," Sirius replied, wincing as something hard hit his leg. "No, now," James told him, throwing a book at his head. "Ouch! Prongs! What did you throw at me?" Sirius asked, rubbing his head. "Dunno, one of moony's books," James replied and started to laugh. "Prongs! Don't throw my stuff," Remus complained. "Fine," "OUCH! WHAT WAS THAT?" Sirius exclaimed as something hit his shoulder and made searing pain shoot through it. "A lamp," James shrugged. "Stop throwing stuff at me, I wanna sleep," Sirius told them, snuggling into his pillow,"Ow!" "Sorry Padfoot but I wanna know too," Remus chuckled, throwing a quill at his head. "Fine, she kissed me," He mumbled into his pillow, feeling his cheeks getting warmer. "Did you kiss her back?" James asked, an eagerness to his voice. "No, Prongs, I kissed her mouth," Sirius commented sarcastically. Remus and Peter chuckled, while James threw another object. "Ouch! I told you, now stop throwing stuff at me, I wanna sleep!" "No, I want the whole story," James demanded, throwing something else. "Urgh, can I tell you tomorrow?" Sirius groaned, getting comfortable again. "No! I wanna know and I wanna know now!" James near shouted, Remus shushed him as Frank stirred. Sighing, Sirius dragged his face out of his pillow and flipped over. "Good, now start the story," But a low snoring was emerging from that side of the room and Sirius was curled up again. "He fell asleep!" James accused, his eyes narrowed. "Let him sleep, he looks exhuasted," Remus injected, pulling the book out of James hand that he was just about to throw. "Fine but I'm hexing him tomorrow if he doesn't tell us," He threatened, climbing into his own bed. "Okay, prongs," Remus said, falling asleep at the foot of his bed.

Lauren and Sirius dated throughout the rest of their school years, they were the sort of couple that were horrible to each other, mainly Lauren, but everyone knew that they really cared for each other. He always kept his promise that he'd made to her that night, he never cheated on her, he forgot all about his player past and didn't even bother looking at other girls. The day after that, they told everyone, James made inuendo comments constantly but Lauren responded, hers much worse, Lily was extatic, Remus was happy for her and thye had this massive conversation about how it had happened, much to Jame's annoyance, Peter was just daydreaming and she got some death glares off of the other Slytherin's. The Gryffindor's were completely fine with it, not minding her sitting at their table, which she often had to do because her other house members hated her with a passion, her brothers were insuffereable, no change there, and Lily blushed furiously every time Lauren responded to Jame's sexual comments. Rue and Alex were constantly prompting her to talk about it but she simply laughed and refused, Rue was still with Edward but Alex could never forgive Dean after that night in fourth year, the pain he'd caused her was too strong. Lauren still rolled her eyes at Sirius and made saracastic comments but they were never going to be like James and Lily, their relationship was entirely different. They were one of the only couples, including Rue and Edward and James and Lily, that were still dating by the end of their seventh year, Lauren had offically become a 'marauder' by that time, she still had no idea what that meant and Lily had participated in her first prank a few weeks into their fifth year, she'd moaned to Lauren for about three weeks about how guilty she felt, to which Lauren just smiled and nodded. The funniest reaction to their relationship had been Malfoy's, he'd asked her if it was true and then preceeded to tell her why she could do a whole lot better than him and how she should choose him instead, Lauren laughed it off and avioded him in lessons, his scowl always upon Sirius. By seventh year, Alex had grown apart from Lauren and Rue, walking everywhere on her own and barely talking to them, by thats what happened to friends, they couldn't last forever. Though the hardest part of the whole of this was the night Lauren had told Regulus.

Lauren hurried through the damp, dingy dungeons, rubbing her arms frantically and pulling her robe as tight as she could, it clung to her body like a sheet of elastic, her short, silky chestnut hair bouncing off of her shoulders and she walked. Reaching the portraite, she whispered the password to a grumbly and tired knight and climbed inside. The plush, emerald sofas were completely empty, in fact the whole common room was, silver moonlight was pouring through the emerald window, the fluffy, black carpet spongy under foot, the roaring fire was spitting flames everywhere, surronding the room in an mix of yellow and emerald. Sitting in a black, leather chair was Regulus Black, watching her with his stormy grey eyes, he was sprawled out at an odd angle, his feet dangling off the arm rest. he was staring into the blazing fire, the creaking embers filling the errie silence that had fallen on the room. Hugging her robe tighter, she crossed over to where he was sat and flopped down onto the fluffy, emerald rug that was placed by the fire.  
"Hey," he greeted, a flicker of a smile crossing his lips. "Hey, what are you doing up at three in the morning?" Lauren asked, her teal eyes glittering under the yellow glow from the fire. "Waiting for you, Rue and Alex told me about what happened in the entrance hall and I wanted to talk to you, so I waited up," Regulus explained, resting his head against the smooth leather. "Oh," Lauren felt blood rise to her cheeks,"you really didn't need to do that," She told him, hugging her knees into her chest and smiling. "I did, because I think I know what you're going to tell me and It's probably better if I'm not around Sirius when you do," he replied, his eyes misting over as he gazed longingly into the fire. "You're right, it's best you're not." she sighed, rubbing her eyes,"Sirius asked me out," Lauren felt more blood rising and fast. "And you said yes," He finished for her, smirking slightly as her blush increased. "How did you know? I didn't tell you anything but you still knew, you always know," She mused. "It doesn't take a genius to realise how much he cares about you, I just assumed that you felt the same way," he shrugged. "Regulus-" She started, feeling dread wash over her as she realised he probably wouldn't be okay with it. "All I want for you is to be happy, even if it's with him," he spat the last word out,"then it's alright with me," "Really?" Lauren asked, her face lighting up. "Yeah," he sighed,"but I'm not being polite to him," Lauren jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, taking him completely by surprise, he could hear the smile in her voice. "Thank you," she whispered into his black, silky hair. "I'm still not being polite to him," Regulus told her, smiling.

It was the summer before Lauren was due to go into her fifth year, she'd been dating Sirius for just under a year, everything was going smoothly but he knew how busy she was over summer with Qudditch and school work, she had little time for a social life and he respected that. Nick had finally found a girlfriend, Alaura, she was a very pretty girl, her silky, brunette hair flowed to her waist and her huge, brown eyes emitted warmth to anyone they made contact with, her slender frame and tall, athletique physique were envious as was her beauty. When Lauren first met her she sort of hope that she'd be a bitch but she was as friendly as a person could be and since she had to put up with jibes from Fred and George that was a big achievement. Alaura had been staying at Colt Manor for the whole of the summer, as her and Nick were both aurors they could be called at any moment, and Lauren's whole family loved her. All the romance had gotten a bit sickening but she was just glad that Nick was finally settled and happy. Yawning, Lauren slid out from beneath the warm covers and rubbed her eyes. Through the mist that had settled on them because of sleep, she saw a very blurry, messy room that was her own, the teal walls didn't have an outline yet and the wooden desk merged into the windows. Yawning once more, Lauren shoved the covers in a heaped pile on the soft, cream carpet and climbed out of bed. Padding across the room, she pulled on her furry navy hoodie and walked out into one of the many hallways. The staircase spiralled and swirled as Lauren made her way downstairs, still half alseep, the black carpet felt soft beneath her feet and the crystal challendelier turned blood red as it reflected the rising suns rays. Clutching the cool, brass handle, Lauren walked into the kitchen and her jaw nearly dropped open. Alaura was sitting on Nick's lap and she was kissing him, very passionatly apparently. Gagging, Lauren cleared her throat and slid a leather chair out from the class table. "Guys, I really don't wanna see that when I've just woken up," Lauren commented, rolling her eyes. Nick and Alaura broke apart, she giggled and smiled apologetically while Nick winked. Making another gagging face, Lauren rubbed her tired eyes and smiled. "Sorry, Lauren. We didn't think anyone was coming in here," Alaura told her, smiling. "Clearly," She replied, smiling,"Seriously though, at the kitchen table? I have to eat here!" Nick just poked his tongue out while Alaura's cheeks redened a little bit as strands of brunette hair fell over her shoulders. "Speaking of relationships, when is Sirius being invited round?" Nick asked, smirking at his younger sister. "Erm," Lauren put on a fake thoughtful face,"Never," "What? Why not? I really want to meet him and get to know him properly," Nick replied, pouting slightly. Before Lauren had the chance to answer, the wooden kitchen door burst open and Fred and George appeared, fighting over some indigo, velvet book, Charlie appeared after them shouting something and Finnick and Matt came running after the group, laughing at the boys that were tackling each other to get the book. "Does that answer your question?" Lauren asked her eldest brother, raising her fair eyebrows at the sceene that was taking place. "Good point, I still think you should though. Has he told his parents?" Alaura had slipped of his lap and perched on a leather seat. "Really? Do you want him to be scarred for life?" She asked,"I don't think so, we'll I'm not dead, so no," Fred and George were still tumbling around on the kitchen floor, grabbing the book from one anothers grasp and laughing. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind too much, sure they're a bit, well, stupid. Do you really think she's gonna react that bad towards it?" "A bit? I don't know," she sighed,"I mean, you know what she thinks of our family I don't think she's gonna welcome me into her home with open arms, do you?" Lauren was aware of her brothers listening in to their conversation, amungst the cheers and shouts, and she rolled her eyes, that was a habit she couldn't get rid of.  
"I suppose not but she isn't exactly fond of him either, maybe she won't care?" Nick suggested but he didn't sound very sure, his chocolate eyes were filled with worry. "Oh, she'll care," She replied, grimacing as she thought of how awkward that conversation would be. "Who'll care?" Fred asked, grabbing the leather book and taking a seat. "None of your business," Lauren snapped, rolling her eyes. This summer that's all Fred had done, evesdropped on her conversations with Nick, hoping for some information. "You really need to stop rolling your eyes, you know," Nick commented, smiling warmly at her. "I'll stop rolling my eyes when Fred stops listening to my conversations," She countered. "It actually is my business, I'm your brother and I need to know these things!" Fred told her, sighing. "No, you want to know these things, there's a difference," Lauren shot back, frowning at her older brother. Before he could answer, the door opened yet again and Mrs Colt strode in, flicking her wand at various utensils and pans. "Ah, everyones awake, good. Now, what would you all like for breakfast?" She asked, tying back her chestnut hair. "Listen, I know the guest is suppose to go first and everything but I'm starving! Can I have pancakes?" Lauren burst, feeling her stomach rumbling. Her mother sighed. "If it's alright with Alaura, then yes you can but you really shouldn't eat so much," Mrs Colt cautioned, looking expectantly at Alaura. "Oh, yeah, it's fine with me," She replied, smiling at them. "Yummy, do we have any syrup?" Lauren asked, jumping up and searching the cupboards. "Yes, it's in there somewhere," Her mum dismissed, waving a hand in the air,"Anyway, we have to go to Diagon Alley today and anyones welcome to come with us," "No, thanks," Lauren replied, still searching the shelves. "I was thinking," her mum went on, ignoring her comment intirely,"that we could go to that new designer place?" "You know, mum, I think Alaura would love that shop! There's an idea, you guys could go together!" Lauren suggested. "I rather wanted you to come, I know you like the way you dress-"  
"We are so not having this conversation again, my clothes are fine!" Her daughter sighed. "Fine, fine. Alaura, would you like to come?" "Oh, okay, that'd be great," Nick's girlfriend replied, beaming. "So, me, your father, Nick, Alaura, Fred and George you're coming," They started to protest but she held up a hand to silence them,"Matt, Charlie and Finnick, you need new robes. Oh, that means you're left in the house alone, Lauren," Her mum sighed. "That's fine with me," Lauren told her mother, grabbing the syrup and taking her seat again. "Yeah, she can be alone to daydream about Sirius," Fred teased, winking at her. "You mean like you do about Angela?" Lauren shot back, feeling her cheeks warm. "I...I do not!" Fred exclaimed, his cheeks glowing rose. "Stop it, both of you," Mrs Colt instructed, frowning at them. "What? He started it!" She shouted, pointing accusingly at Fred. "And I'm ending it. Everyone eat your breakfasts quickly, I don't want to be there all day!" Breakfast passed very quickly, Fred making jibes every so often and Lauren blushing but that's how it was between them. After everyone had finsihed their breakfasts, they got dressed and met by the fireplace. "Any problems, any at all, just find me," Mrs Colt told her daughter, worry flashing in her teal eyes. "Yes, yes mum, I've got it," The rest of her family were already on their way to Diagon Alley via the floo network. "Okay, see you later, honey," Emberly said and disappeared in crackling, acidic green flames. Lauren trudged back upstairs, unsure of what to do for the hours that they would be gone. Entering her room once again, she flopped down onto her bed and wished she was of age, then she could play music at least. The house sounded eerily quiet with only her, it was usually filled with the shouts and cheers of her brothers, whatever they were doing, but it was completely silent. Shaking off her uneasy feeling, she slid a black, leather book out of her bookcase and sat crossed-legged on the soft carpet. Lauren's teal eyes danced over the creamy pages, soaking up the words like a spongue soaking up water. She got lossed in the story of the book, the images and pictures forming in her mind as she read a new sentence. A light tapping sound brought her back to reality, her teal eyes shot up from the pages and glanced around the room, the noise was too rhythmic, too sequenced, it was someone making it. Jumping up, she turned towards her window and her jaw fell open. On the other side of the glass was her boyfriend, smiling cheekily and waving. Rushing over, she thrust the window open, her eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline and pulled Sirius in. "What on earth are you doing?" Lauren asked, trying to frown at him. "I missed you and I knew that you were too busy with Qudditch and everything to meet up, so here I am!" Sirius replied, shrugging as if it was normal to climb in through someones window. The frown was slowly smoothing out and her face broke into a smile. Sirius was wearing muggle clothes, navy, skinny jeans, black high tops and a black top with AC DC with a lightening bolt down down the middle written on it in crimson writing. His stormy eyes were as breath taking as ever and his hair shone like black silk in the golden rays that were pouring through her window. "Are you checking me out?" He teased, seeing her teal eyes sliding down his body. "You wish," Lauren scoffed, poking her tongue out at his hurt expression. "Does that mean I don't get a kiss?" Sirius pouted his lower lip and put on a fake sad expression. "Well, it was kind of idiotic showing up and climbing through my window but kind of sweet at the same time," She replied, laughing. "See? Kind of sweet? I was just being thoughtful and you must be pleased to see me?" Lauren couldn't help it, her face broke into a smile and she was shaking her head slightly at him. "Is that a yes?" She closed the gap between them, snaked her arms around his neck, whilst his circled her waist and Lauren felt a pair of warm, moist lips crashing down on hers. It felt like electricity was running her vanes, warmth was coursing through them and she couldn't remember feeling happier since they broke up for summer break, although she would never tell him that. Eventually they broke apart and Sirius just grinned at her, his stupid grin that he knew she loved. Rolling her eyes at Sirius, she pushed him back and wrapped her arms around him. "Did anyone ever tell you, you're a bit of a pratt?" She whispered, whilst hugging him. "That's nice, I do this whole romantic thing and all you can do is call me a pratt!" He exclaimed, hugging her tighter. "Yeah because climbing through my window screams romance," Lauren replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Okay, point. But it's the thought that counts, right?" Sirius asked, smiling into her silky, chestnut hair. "Yeah, I guess it is," She answered, laughing. They broke off the hug, Lauren sunk back down until her feet were flat on the ground and smiled. "Did you grow?" "Yeah, I was hoping you wouldn't notice but it's kinda hard not to," He told her, smiling. "How tall are you now? You must be over six foot?" Lauren asked, comparing him to Fred. "There you go again, just can't stop checking me out?" Sirius teased, smirking. Lauren felt her cheeks getting warmer, she knew that they were fastly becoming rose. "I was comparing your hight to Fred's actually," She replied, turning away from him and collecting the book that left discarded on the floor. Picking it up, she crossed the room and slotted it into its original place in the wooden bookcase. "I don't mind," He breathed, his warm, salty breath tickling her ear, he couldn't be further than an inch away. "I wasn't checking you out," Lauren retorted, feeling her cheeks glowing hotter. "Hmm. Your pajama shorts look really good by the way," Sirius teased, brushing his denim jeans against her bare leg. Lauren suddenly felt very self consious, her pajama shorts barely reached a quarter of the way down, she cussed internally for forgetting that she wasn't dressed yet. "Shut up, I didn't have a reason to get dressed today," She defended, feeling her cheeks glowing red hot. "I'm not complaining," He breathed, entertwining his hands around her waist and resting his chin or her shoulder. "Why do you always wind me up?" Lauren sighed, trying to pull her shorts down further. "I'm being truthful, they looked good. Just don't let any other guys see you in them," Sirius replied. "Sirius, I live in a house full of guys, you might wanna re-think that statement," "Right, any guys who aren't your family," "Nope, that's not any good either. Finnick stays here constantly,"  
"The one you had a massive crush on?" He asked, a hint of jealousy in his smooth voice. "Why, you jealous?" Lauren teased. His arms tightened around her waist, pressing her against his body, her blush increased but she didn't move. "A little bit, he gets to see you in those shorts all the time," "Seriously, shut up, they're just shorts," She replied, smiling. Lauren turned around, his arms still secured around her waist and looked into his eyes, cool grey into twinkly teal. "But he's a guy and I can't help but feel jealous when I think about him staying here, seeing you everyday," "He's just like another brother now, plus he has a girlfriend," Lauren reasoned, smiling at him. "Yeah but six weeks is a really long time and teenage guys have thoughts like that," Sirius told her. "If it makes you feel any better, I mostly just stay in here, reading or studying," Lauren told him, staring up into his perfect eyes, she felt like she could get lost in the depth and cool grey, it was like a storm was brewing inside them, pulling her in. "Guys watch you play Qudditch as well, don't they?" Sirius asked. "Yeah, guys are on the team, why?" "All these guys you're surronded by, can you blame me for getting jealous?" "But do you know what the difference is between them and you?" Lauren asked, feeling warmth from the gold sunlight draping her face. "Er, they're all pricks?" Sirius guessed, smirking. "No! You have me and they don't," She told him, smiling. "And their pricks?" "No! They're not pricks, neither are you, no one is," Lauren told him. "What if they try to make a move on you, then they are pricks," Sirius mused, frowning at the idea. "Yes, Sirius, then you can call them a prick," She sighed, letting a smile creep up her pale, thin lips. "Good, can I beat them up too?" He asked. "Hmm, I guess they would deserve it," "I might get prongs to help me?" "Okay, but that's never going to happen, so relax," Lauren soothed, smiling at him. "How do I know that?" He asked exasperated. "Don't you trust me?" She replied, keeping their eyes locked. "Of course I do," Sirius said seriously. "Then trust me on that, I wouldn't let them get close enough to make a move," Lauren reassured him. His arms were still wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him with every sentence until their noses were nearly touching. Sirius leant down and placed a small kiss on her soft, pale lips, she could feel the smile behind his lips as he did this, it was over in a second but it seemed to get rid of all this thoughts about other guys. When they parted, Lauren pulled on the collar of his t-shirt and their lips met again, this kiss was deeper, more meaningful, Lauren ran her fingers through his silky, black hair while he kept his arms placed around her hips, their lips moved in sync and she got the feeling of warmth running through her whole body again. They'd never kissed this deeply before, it was awkward kissing around Hogwarts because you were never truely alone, but here they were alone and no one would interupt them accidently. "Woah," Sirius breathed when they parted for air, Lauren felt the muscles in her face pull up and laughter rang around her room. "Oh, shut up," She replied, still smiling. "We really should do that more often," He whispered, basking in the smell of vanilla that was radiating off of her. "Hmm, no," Lauren joked, smiling and breaking from his grip. Sirius smiled and followed her as she strode across her room and sat down on her silky covers. He sat down next to her, smiling at the blush that was slowly creeping up her cheeks. Sirius brushed her rose cheeks with his soft, nimble fingers and the blush increased, turning her cheeks crimson. "Don't do that," She told him, pulling her curved eyebrows together. "But you look so cute when you blush," He teased, sweeping her chestnut hair over her shoulders, so her crimson cheeks were in full view.  
"I'm serious!" She grimaced as she realised her mistake immediately. "No, I'm Sirius," Sirius joked, running his fungers through the soft, silky hair that smelt of fresh apples.  
"Sirius is a star, you know?" Lauren asked, shivering slightly as his fingers brushed her neck. "Yeah, our parents named us after stars, Sirius and Orion are stars and so are Regulus and Arcturus," He told her, smiling. "I wish I was name after a star, It would be a lot prettier than my real name," She mused. "Ebony, what exactly is wrong with that?" Sirius asked, watching as she grimaced at the use of her real name. "It's a colour! People don't walk around being called red or blue, it's not normal!" "Well I'm called Sirius! What even is that? At least people have been called Ebony in the past," "I suppose but I still hate it," She shrugged. "Can I call you Ebony?" Sirius asked, his cool grey eyes watching her. "I guess you can when we're alone," Lauren mused, her teal eyes fixing on the cream carpet. "Really? But we're never alone, James and everyone is always around in school and you're too busy in the summer," "Well, we're alone now," Lauren shrugged, watching a smirk grow on his face,"No! I didn't, I didn't, mean, that, I just, I," She stumbled and rubbed her face with her hands. Sirius put a muscly arm around her shoulders, she burried her face into his chest, which was surprsingly comfy, and tried to smooth her lips out from the smile they were pulled into. "I know what you meant," He whispered into her hair, putting his other arm around her and pulling Lauren into a tight hug. "Listen, I have to tell you something, it's been bugging me all summer and I just can't, I have to tell someone," Lauren looked up into his eyes, he looked worried about something, doubt washed over his face and he hugged her tighter. "Sure, you know that you can tell me anything," "I really, I really do love you, Ebony," Sirius whispered, cupping her face in his cool, strong hands and staring right into the teal eyes, the ones that always manage to make his heart race. Before Lauren could reply or say anything else, his warm, moist lips crashed down onto hers, she got the feeling that electricity was coursing through her vanes, swirling and rushing with her blood, their lips moved in sync and it seemed to last forever. Neither of them wanted to break it off, it was too perfect, too special but Lauren's mind wandered to what time her parents would be back, she would never hear the end of it if they were caught kissing in her room. Grudgingly, Lauren started to pull back, holding the kiss for as long as she could until they were too far apart. "Maybe you should go, I really don't think my parents would be pleased to find us kissing in my room," She explained, trying to catch her breath. "I know, I really don't want to though," Sirius sighed, gazing out at the afternoon sun. "I'll have to go back to my family," he grimaced. "I would say I'd come with you but I don't think your mum would be happy to have a Colt in the house," Lauren replied, smiling. "Who cares what she thinks? In her mind I'm a blood traitor whose a waste of her flesh and blood," Those words stung Lauren like someone had slapped her across her face, how could his own mother think that about him? Even if he wasn't the perfect son that she wanted, you were suppose to love your children no matter what but apparently that didn't apply to her. Noticing Lauren's shocked expression, Sirius smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "How, how could she even think that? About her own child," Lauren mumbled, placing her head on his shoulder. "Regulus was and will always be the golden child, the one that does everything they want. I don't want anything to do with all that dark arts shit, I guess becoming a dark wizard never appealed to me," He shrugged. "I can't even begin to imagine how that feels, that must be horrible," She mused, her teal eyes full of sorrow and empathy.  
"It's...bareable, I have you, James, Remus, Lily, hell, maybe even Peter," Lauren laughed, hugging his arm. "Yeah, you and Peter are the best of friends, especially that time you attacked him," "I didn't attack him!"  
"You had him pinned up against a wall," Lauren reminded him, smiling slightly. "I just don't see how you can put up with him, he's just so...annoying!" He replied, rolling his eyes. "What, he's annoying because he's shy and you're really loud?" She challenged. "No, he's annoying because he doesn't know anything and has the attention span of a goldfish," "Sirius! That's really rude, not everyone can be smart!" Lauren exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm not talking about not bring smart, he really doesn't know anything!" Sirius replied. "Hmm," Lauren turned her back towards him, her eyes still narrowed and focused on the gold sunlight that was pouring through her window. She felt her hair being pushed to the left of her head, the silky strands brushed her neck and sent shivers down her spine. Sirius leant down and kissed the base of her neck, Lauren felt a smile spreading across her face, she tried to shrugg him off but nothing worked. His lips felt soft and smooth against the bare skin of her neck, goosebumps appeared on her arms. Sirius laughed lightly against her neck, his warm, moist breath sending shivers down her spine. "Stop it," Lauren said, though her voice didn't really sound like she wanted him to, it was no louder than a breath and lacked a sterness. Sirius didn't stop, instead he went on, planting kisses along her shoulders and down her back, it was clear he wasn't going to give up until she'd forgiven him. Sighing, Lauren went to stand up, maybe then she'd be able to ignore him but before she'd even stood up properly, a pair of strong arms circled her waist and pulled her back down, she tried to worm out of the grip, well, sort of tried, half heartedly. Grudgingly, she had to admit to herself that she was enjoying this and a smile tugged at her pale, thin lips. Sirius pulled her onto his lap and continued to kiss the back of her neck, his lap was surprisingly comfortable and Lauren felt herself lean back. Hunching up her shoulders, she tried one last time to shake him off but nothing was working, just like before he went on as if she wasn't trying at all. "Get off," Lauren instructed, at least her voice sounded more stern then before, pulling at his arms that had her in an iron grip. "Forgive me first, then I might," Sirius breathed against her neck, pulling her closer to him. Lauren's mind turned to mush, with Sirius this close it was hard to remember to breath, let alone think. "Fine, fine, I forgive you," She sighed, rolling her eyes,"now let me go," "Hmm. No," He replied, tightening his grip. "What? Why not?" Lauren gushed, feeling blood rise to her cheeks. She could hear the smirk in his voice and feel it against her skin. "I'll let go if you want me to-"  
"I do!" "Ah, one condition. I'll let you go for a kiss," Sirius told her, smirking as she snapped her head around to frown at him. "Well, we can't stay like this forever, I'll just wait until you get dead legs," She replied, wearing a satisfied smile. "But what if your parents come home before that happens?" He asked, smirking as he knew he'd won. Lauren felt her face drop, she really didn't think her parents would be impressed with, not only a boy in her room, but that she was sitting on his lap. "Why are you doing this to me?" Lauren teased, sighing dramatically and pouting her bottom lip. "Don't pretend," Sirius teased back, whispering into her silky, chestnut hair. "You promise you'll let me go?" She asked, turning to face her boyfriend. "I promise I'll let you go but it has to be a proper kiss," "Urgh, fine." Lauren leant nearer and pecked him on the lips, she was about to back away when a hand snaked around her neck and pulled her closer. She could feel the smile behind his lips as the kiss deepened and she curled her arms around his neck, Lauren wouldn't admit it to him but her first proper kiss was when she'd first kissed Sirius and she couldn't believe she'd gone from nerdy, bookworm who hasn't even kissed a boy to this, even though she was still a nerdy, bookworm. "Can I go now?" She asked when they parted for air, rolling her eyes. "You can if you want to," Sirius replied, smirking. "What makes you think I wouldn't want to?" Lauren challenged, aware of his arms loosening and dropping to his sides. "Why would you?" He asked, still smirking. "Because, well, just because," She replied, feeling her cheeks blushing deep crimson. Still, she didn't move, truth was, he was quite comfy and she really didn't mind sitting like this at all. "You haven't moved yet," Sirius commented, cocking an eyebrow. Lauren didn't say anything to this, she just felt her cheeks blush deeper and turned her head towards the window where sunlight was draping everything. "Still haven't moved,"  
"I thought you didn't want me to?" Lauren challenged, smiling. "Oh, I don't but I thought you wanted to? I guess my lap is too comfy?" "No, it's not actually," She replied, preparing to get up. Sirius tried to grab her hand but she was already standing up and it resulted in them tumbling to the soft carpet. Lauren felt them tumble over a few times, his smirk growing as they rolled towards the wooden door, she was smiling, even though she didn't want to be. A dull thump sounded as they hit the comfy carpet once last time, Lauren laying on top of Sirius and looking down into his smirking face. "Pratt," She scoffed, put her hands either side of their bodies and pushing herself up and off of him. "Stop pretending, Lauren," He replied, sitting up and ironing his clothes out against his body. "I'm not! I really don't want to lie on top of you-" She stopped mid-sentence realising how that sounded and blushing furiously, Sirius cocked an eyebrow and smirked,"No! Merlin! I did NOT mean like that!" Lauren near shouted. Sirius just laughed in response, his stormy eyes misted and pulled her into a tight hug. "Why do I always manange to say the wrong thing?" Lauren complained. "Relax, I know what you meant," Sirius soothed. "It's really embrassing," "Yeah but you look cute when you blush," He told her.  
"No, I don't," Sirius sighed and glanced to the darkening sky outside. "I'm sorry but I have to go," He said, she tightened her arms around his neck, Lauren could think of nothing worse than not seeing him for four more weeks. "I'll come back, I promise," "You better or I'll hex you," Lauren warned, laughing lightly. "I promise I will," Sirius promised, hugging her tightly once more and than releasing her from his grip. Lauren backed away slowly, never wanting this moment to end, four weeks was ages to go. "Okay, I guess I'll see you when you decided to climb through my window next," She told him, smiling. "Yes, yes you will," He replied, striding over to her window. Sliding the glass open, he was just about to leave when her voice stopped him.  
"You'll come back?" Lauren asked, worry flitting across her features. Sirius climbed out through the window, one leg at at time. Before he disappeared completely, he faced her one more time and smiled. "Always,"

It wasn't unusual at Black manor to hear Sirius and his mother having a blazing row, in fact it was woven into their daily routine, Regulus or his dad would try and calm them down but once Sirius had made a snide comment, it was impossible to stop his mum from retaliating. This was one of the worst though, he'd decided to tell his parents about him and Lauren, of course Regulus already knew but he acted like the golden child, his mum wasn't happy. At all. Sirius could take the insults when they were about him, if she called him a waste of her flesh and blood he'd just shrugg it off but when she was insulting his girlfriend, the one girl he loved, something evaporated inside him, like a tiny pocket of pure hate had burst and spread around his body, neither would back down and the insults got worse. They were standing in Black manors living room, silky, black curtains draped the windows, black, velvet sofas were placed in an 'L' shape, a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, providing the light and the ebony, soft carpet was spongy underfoot. It wasn't the brightest place in the world, to say the least, and it emitted gloom over the whole house. But that's what his life was when he was with his family, nothing but a merge of gloom and insults. "HOW DARE YOU DATE THAT BLOOD TRAITOR! HER WHOLE FAMILY ARE VERMIN, DENYING THE DARK ARTS! I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH OBLIVIOUSNESS TO THE BLOOD STATUS!" His mother screeched, her black, silky hair flowing down her back and swaying as she screamed at her son. "DON'T CALL HER A BLOOD TRAITOR! YOU'RE GETTING ALL MAD BECAUSE OF SOME PATHETIC LITTLE ARGUMENT THAT HAPPENED YEARS AGO! LET IT GO MOTHER, IT'S STUPID AND POINTLESS JUST LIKE BLOOD STATUS!" Sirius shouted back, feeling anger rising inside of him as she insulted Lauren. "I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE A DISAPPIONTMENT BUT THIS? ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK? SAYING BLOOD STATUS DOESN'T MATTER? YOU'RE FLITH JUST LIKE THE COLT NAME, YOU'RE A WASTE OF MY TIME AND EFFORTS AND YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN ABORTED BEFORE YOU COULD CAUSE ME ALL THIS PAIN AND MISERY," His mum shot back, it didn't bother him anymore but she was still insulting the girl he loved and that stung him worse than anything. "WELL IT'S A SHAME I WASN'T ABORTED BECAUSE THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH YOU! LAUREN IS NOT A BLOOD TRAITOR AND I DON'T NEED YOUR APPROVAL TO DATE HER!" He growled back, his voice dangerously low and cold. "YOU ARE BOTH BLOOD TRAITORS! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK AND HER WHOLE FAMILY ARE AN INSULT TO THE PURE BLOOD SOCIETY!" She screamed, Regulus and his father was just standing by the sides of the room, use to their arguments but Regulus felt hurt prang him as his mother said all those things about Lauren, who was his best friend. "STOP CALLING HER THAT! JUST BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T HATE PEOPLE FOR THINGS THEY CAN'T CONTROL, LIKE THEIR BLOOD, DOESN'T MAKE HER A TRAITOR, IT MAKES HER A GOOD PERSON! SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL NEVER BE!" "I NEVER RAISED YOU LIKE THIS, I RAISED YOU LIKE YOUR BROTHER, TO CARRY ON THE BLACK NAME, NOT POSION IT BY HAVING MUD BLOODS AS YOUR FRIENDS AND A BLOOD TRATIOR FOR A GIRLFRIEND," Mrs Black screamed. "LAUREN HASN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER, HOW CAN YOU JUDGE WHEN YOU'VE NEVER EVEN MET HER?!" "I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN! I WISH REGULUS WAS MY ONLY SON, I KNOW THAT HE WON'T DISAPPOINT ME ANYWHERE NEAR AS MUCH AS YOU HAVE, I SHOULD'VE GOT RID OF YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHOICE!" "I DON'T CARE!" Sirius shouted, amazed at the hatred that was pouring out of his voice,"I REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK OR SAY ANYMORE! I'VE DISAPPOINTED YOU? YOU WERE AND ARE NEVER THERE FOR ME, CALL YOURSELF MY MOTHER? YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST, SO WHY SHOULD ANYTHING CHANGE NOW?!" "I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE BECAUSE I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN! I WISH YOU DIDN'T EXIST! YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ME SIRIUS, YOU MEAN LESS THAN A STRANGER, AND I WISH YOU WEREN'T MY SON!" Those words stung him, not as much as the insults about Lauren, but how could his own mother wish that he didn't exist? "YOU THINK I WOULDN'T GIVE ANYTHING TO NOT BE PART OF THE NOBLE HOUSE BLACK, I'D RATHER BE MUGGLE BORN THAN LIVE HERE!" Sirius exclaimed, narrowing his stormy eyes and glowering at his 'mother'.  
"GOOD! THEN YOU WOULDN'T BRING SHAME UPON OUR ANCESTORS LIKE YOU HAVE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BROUGHT THE SHAME YOU HAVE UPON THE BLACK NAME AND THE PURE BLOODS!" "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO REALISE I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT OUR FUCKING ANCESTORS OR OUR NAME OR THE PURE BLOODS?! THEY MEAN NOTHING TO ME! THE BLACK NAME IS JUST THAT; A NAME. OUR ANCESTORS ARE DEAD AND THE PURE BLOODS CAN ALL GO FUCK THEMSELVES!" Sirius screamed, his cheeks blazing red. "YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE! I WANT NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH YOU! YOU ARE VERMIN JUST LIKE YOUR FRIENDS AND LAUREN AND AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED YOU ARE DEAD TO ME!" His mother shrieked, pure hatred blazing in her stormy eyes. "GOOD BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD TO ME TOO," Sirius shouted, he sprinted out of the room, salty tears wetting his cheeks and ran up to the once place he could be himself, where she couldn't get to him, where he could be truely alone; his room. Crashing through the doorway, he grabbed his leather, brown trunk and started stuffing it full of his Hogwarts things and his own things. Objects and clothes flew through the air, his books, quills and ink landing silently in his trunk, his clothes screwing up and becoming tangled. School books, quills, money, clothes, robes, crystal bottles of ink and finally, his broomstick. Sirius furiously wiped away the tears that were falling down his cheeks as he packed everything he needed. This was it. He had to get out. There was so much more he wanted to take, he wanted to pack up all of his belongings, pack up the whole room and transport it to wherever he was going. Where was he going? Wiping away more tears with the cuff of his jumper, he thought of the one place that felt a little like home; James's. Rushing around the room, he picked up his guitars, the black one glinting under the golden rays of the sun and the wooden one feeling soft against his fingers as he laid them in his trunk with the rest of his things. Flitting across the room, throwing stuff away, putting it into his trunk, saying goodbye to them, he started to heave with the tears, his breathing was too fast and his chest felt like it was going to collapse. His wooden, bedroom door creaked and a figured appeared in the doorway, looking how Sirius felt. "Sirius, please don't go, don't leave me, please," Regulus begged, tears running down his face. "I'm sorry Regulus but there's no choice. I'm dead to her and she'd dead to be and I can't, I just can't," Sirius replied, not looking at his younger brother. "She didn't mean it, Siri! You know what she's like, you and her argue all the time," He tried to calm his older brother but he was failing miserably, he realised how pathetic he sounded and took a deep breath. "She hates me. I didn't want to believe it before, I couldn't, I thought maybe, maybe a small motherly instinct would kick in, she'd love me again and we could all be happy but that was wishful thinking. My own mother hates me and there's nothing I can do," Sirius replied, shaking his head as he packed more things in the leather trunk. "So, you're just going to run away?" Regulus asked, his voice breaking mid-sentence and more tears escaping his eyes and trickling down his cheeks. "There's no choice! Everything she said, about me, about Lauren, they're too unforgivable. Not that she'd be sorry anyway," "Please, just listen to me, Sirius. I don't think I can cope without you, you've always been here, I'll crumble without you," "I'm sorry, Regulus, I am truely and positively sorry but I can't stay here, not with her." He wiped away a tear,"No, I'm gonna leave, it's decided." "Because she said a few hurtful things she didn't mean? That's it?" His little brother asked, his bottom lip trembling. "AND WHERE WERE YOU?" Sirius screamed, feeling anger surge through him,"WHERE WERE YOU WHEN HE WAS INSULTING YOUR, SO CALLED, BESTFRIEND?! HUH?! NO WHERE! COWERING AWAY FROM HER, BEING THE GOLDEN CHILD, SHE'S ALWAYS PREFERED YOU!" He zipped up his case, wiping away the tears that had sprouted in anger, and yanked it off his bed. "I, I, there's, I couldn't," Regulus stuttered, feeling hurt reach his chest,"I'm sorry," He whispered. Taking once last look around his room, Sirius knew he would never come back here, somewhere inside he knew that this is the last look he would ever take around his room and a weight pulled on his chest. Soaking up every last detail, he knew he would never forget this place but he couldn't wait to forget the people inside of Black Manor. After he'd snapped his head left and right and turned on the spot, he bid a silent goodbye to the place that had kept him sane all these years and sighed. Sirius ran down the twisting stairs, pulling his trunk along behind him like a tantruming child, and was aware of Regulus following him down. Reaching the front door, Sirius turned around one last time to see his little brother shaking, tears streaming down his face like two rivers, his face was full of sorrow and his cool, grey eyes were full of nothing but sadness. Neither of his parents came out to say goodbye, he'd expected that of his mother but his dad? It was clear he didn't care either with was another blow to the chest, Regulus was the only one in his house who actually cared enough to say what would be their last proper goodbye. The scene unfolding in front of him broke his heart but he knew that no words could comfort Regulus, for once, he couldn't make it all better, he would never see his little brother properly again and his chest felt like it weighed a thousand tuns. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Regulus kept whispering, over and over again, shaking like a tree being pushed by a strong, winter gust, his face was frozen and his eyes wouldn't stay in one place. This was it. One last goodbye. To the only member of his family that really cared. To his younger brother. He'd promsied he'd never leave. Promises get broken. "Yeah, me too, Regulus," Sirius whispered, a cool, summers breeze greeted him as he stepped out into the warm, summer night, pulling his brown, leather trunk behind him. Sirius couldn't bring himself to look back at his terriffied brother, he had no idea what would happen to him, probably something bad but nothing can last forever. Regulus would probably become a dark wizard, performing crucio curses on innocent victims for the pure joy but he wasn't a kid anymore, Regulus could look after himself. As for what awaited Sirius, he had no further knowledge, hopefully good times with James, Lily, Remus, maybe Peter and most certainly Lauren. He smiled to himself as he crossed the huge field, the setting sun warming his face as he walked, the small, shards of grass tickling his ankles. Life wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. He'd had to leave everything he'd known and venture out into the world alone. He wanted to scream, to shout at whoever would listen that it wasn't fair and he was just a kid and he had no idea what to do and he'd left his brother but he didn't. He walked in silence as the sun set on the horizon, draping everything in crimson, as the gentil breeze washed over his face and refreshed his tired eyes. He promised he'd never leave. Promises get broken.

Sure, some of the times were bad, Sirius went to live with James after that horrific night, he would only tell Lauren the whole story, but many of their times together were good. Laughing, joking and generally living. The years passed with their friendship as strong as ever, the marauders, Lily and Lauren, that was the way it was, them, all together, the way it had to be. The marauders, Lily and Lauren were shading underneath the massive, oak tree, pellets of golden light shining through the lush, green leaves and curving, brown branches, a light, summers breeze was rustling the leaves and that combined with the natural rippling of the black lake made for a very peaceful afternoon. The low hum of conversations filled the air, students sat around, huddled in groups, chatting about whatever was recent news or whatever new gossip was around or lessons, mainly the Ravenclaw's or, or just about anything really, that's how it was at Hogwarts. "Please, Remus? Please? I'll get you some chocolate from Honeydukes next time we visit Hogsmead if you do my History of Magic essay? Please, I have absoluetly no idea what it's about and I really need your help!" Sirius pleased, smiling innocently. Remus looked over the top of the leather bound, black book he was reading, the gold fleckes in his eyes catching the light. "No, Sirius. I already told you, you should've taken the notes in class and then you wouldn't be in this mess," Remus replied, frowning. "Moony, please? I don't want a lecture, I want you to help me with my homework and then I'll let you read in peace?" He tried again. "No, I'm not going to be bribed by chocolate, ask someone else," Remus waved a scarred hand at him and went back to his book, the sound of him flipping the creamy pages filling the air occasionally. Sirius pouted and leant back against the strudy trunk of the tree. "Say, Lily?" He started. Lily looked up from her conversation with James, her emerald eyes piercing right into him. "No, Sirius," Lily replied, turning back to James and starting up their conversation again. "Er, Lauren?" Sirius asked, she rolled her eyes at him and pulled her fair, curved eyebrows into a frown. Placing the prestine copy of 'How to kill a Mockingbird' down, Lauren turned her teal eyes to her boyfriend, they caught the light and twinkled. "No, Sirius. I'm not helping you with your essay, and no, you cannot borrow my notes and no, I'm not going to subtly show you my essay so you can copy it all down before class." Lauren told him, picking up her book again and flipping a creamy page. "If it makes you feel any better, James hasn't done it either," she added, peeping over the top of her sky blue book. Lily stopped talking immediately, her expression hardened and she narrowed her startling eyes, directing the scowl towards James. "You said you'd done the essay," Lily accused, flicking her crimson hair over her shoulders and scowling. "Gee, thanks, Lauren," He mumbled, "I, er, I started it," James said, raising his voice so she could hear him. "Well, how far did you get?" She asked, keeping the scowl in place. "He wrote his name on the top and he might've written the essay title," Sirius injected, smirking. "Thanks, Padfoot. Listen, I'll do the essay tonight, Lils, it's no big deal," James said, ruffling is ebony hair and adjusting his circular glasses. "You don't think anythings a big deal," Lily replied, rolling her emerald eyes. "I do! But what's History of magic going to give me, I mean, really?" James asked, smiling slightly. "Er, your history?" Lauren injected, rolling her eyes once again. "Yeah, merlin James," Sirius teased, smirking at his best friend. "You can shut up because you haven't done it either," Lauren commented, waving her hand in mid-air. "Which is exactly why I need your help..." Her boyfriend prompted, smiling. "Which is exactly why you're not getting my help," She shot back, smiling into the creamy pages of her book. "Well, you wouldn't let me get a detention over this, would you?" He tried again. "After about five hundred I doubt it matters anymore," Lauren replied, not looking up. "You realise he'll give us the worst punishment possible, right padfoot?" "Yep," "Have fun," Lauren commented, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I hate you," Sirius exlaimed, frowning. "Nah, you don't,"

Today was the day. Colt Manor was alight with the buzz of conversation, the fire in the kitchen was blazing with orange, yellow and red. Lauren, her mum, Nick and her dad sat anxiously around the glass table, waiting for the time when the post would come and their curious minds would be settled. Lauren kept fidgeting in her smooth, leather chair, the teal eyes kept darting to the window, where the crimson sun was rising slowly, to her family's encouraging faces and to her hands, which were twirling around in circles. Her whole family could almost taste the tension in the air as they waited for the letter, the letter that was more important than any other. Today was he day Lauren would recieved her OWL exam results. She had an inkling that she would do well but no one could be sure, Lauren didn't feel like Sirius or James, they weren't really bothered even though they were smart, she was nervous about getting bad grades. It was only the second week into the summer holidays but they were scheduled to arrive for today, before she'd left the school Lily and Remus had wished her luck, as she had them, James had told her that she could always resit them, which didn't help at all, and Sirius had assured her that she would pass. But with all these comments, Lauren still felt her stomach fluttering as the seconds ticked on. Her mum was absentmindedly tapping the table, her dad was reading The Daily Prophet and Nick was just sitting, waiting like the rest of her family. Lauren's nerves got progessively worse as the time ticked on, by the time a mere ten minutes had passed she was shaking uncontrolably and couldn't evem think about food without feeling something rise in her throat. The sun was now completly up, golden rays were dancing around the kitchen and pouring through the window, fluffy clouds were floating around in the clear, blue sky. A spot was soaring towards their kitchen window, a small, brown fleck in the sky but they all knew at once that it carried the OWL results. Jumping up, Lauren ran over to the window, knocking over her chair in the process, and swung it open. The brown, tawny owl swopped in, his wings sretched, and landed on the wooden table next to the window. Lauren untied the letter as quickly as she could, her fingers slipping a couple of times, and ripped open the envelope. A small, green badge fell out first, it had a gold letter 'P' on it and shone in the gold sun, Lauren didn't even acknowledge this, she pulled out the other three pieces of parchment. Throwing the two that weren't her results on the table, she opened the only one left and read. Her teal eyes danced over the words on the parchment and disbelief washed over her.

Dear Miss Colt, These are the results of your OWL examinations, we hope you are as pleased with your results as we are. We shall see you again in september.

History of Magic O Herbology O Transfiguration O Broomstick lessons O Defense against the Dark Arts O Charms O Potions O

All she could do was stare at the soft, creamy parchment in her hands, had she really got an O in everything? Lauren could feel the warmth from the sunlight and everyones stares on her but she felt like her tongue had frozen. Lauren thought that there had to be some kind of mistake, no one ever got results this perfect. Not even Nick. "Well, you're a prefect so they must've been good," Nick commented, rolling the emerald badge over in his fingers. Lauren's head shot up, she hadn't even noticed the pin attached in the letters. "I, er, I got an O in everything," Lauren choked out, smiling shyly and fixing her eyes on the shiny badge. "Merlin, Lauren!" Nick exclaimed, smiling. "Oh! Lauren that's wonderful! We're so proud," Mrs Colt gushed, pulling her into a rib breaking hug. Lauren could barely breath with how tight her mum was hugging her but she was still smiling, her results had been better than she'd expected. "Well done! And they made you a prefect!" Her dad gushed, smiling. Eventually, her mum released her and Lauren could breath again, all she could do was beam, it had been exactly what she wanted. Suddenly the kitchen door burst open, Fred and George came tumbling through, both of them looking eager. "Well?" Fred asked, pushing his ebony hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, how'd you do, Lauren?" George asked, standing up and brushing himself down. "She got O's in everything," Nick replied, smiling at her. "Woah, she even got more than Nick!" Fred exclaimed, smiling. "I think celebrations are in order!" Mrs Colt commented, smiling at her whole family. "Urgh, do we have to?" Lauren groaned, picking up the prefect bage and twirling it in her fingers. "Yes! Now everyone out of the kitchen!" But all Lauren could think about was telling Sirius in september, telling him that she got perfect results and was made a prefect, but somehow she had a feeling that he already knew.

A low sobbing emitted from the Slytherin common, Lauren's eyelids snapped open to the sound of sharp intakes of breath. Her eyes skimmed over her own dormitory, it was silent; no one was crying and all the beds were filled. Silver moonlight was draping the room, reflecting off the square mirror and pouring through the emerald curtains. Slipping out of bed, Lauren pulled on her fluffy, indigo dressing gown and silently crossed the Slytherin dorm. She clutched the cool, metal handle, edge the wooden door open and slipped through the gap, she made it as small as she possibly could. The marble corridor was freezing, Lauren pulled her dressing gown closer as she tip-toed down, feeling goosebumps prickling her arms the closer she got to the stairs that led down into the common room. As the only source of light was the silvery mist that poured through the small windows, Lauren slowed her pace and wished she had her wand with her. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, she approached the wide, gleeming staircase and squinted down into the cold, emerald room, the reflection off the stain-glass windows gave it an evil aura. Ironic. A small shadow fell across the room, a person was curled up by the long-since-extinguished fire sobbing into their knees which we pulled up the foetal position. Whoever it was was hidden by the siohuetted objects around the room and the darkness that fell upon the dingy room. Creeping down the smooth, marble steps, Lauren squinted into the vast blackness as she tried to identify the stranger. The bottom step creaked as she felt the rough floor of the common room underneath her feet and a tear-soaked face shot up. Regulus. "Regulus?" Lauren asked gliding across the cold, dark common room, her teal eyes fixed on her best friend. "Go away," He sobbed, taking a huge intake of breath after he'd spoken and more tears sprouted from his cool, grey eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked, ignoring his comment and perching down on the emerald rug infront of the blackened fire. "Lauren, go away. I'm not worth your worry," Regulus gasped, frantically wiping away the salty tears that were sliding down his cheeks. "What? We've been best friends for years, how can you not be worth my worry?" Lauren replied, scooting closer to him. "I'm...I'm a monster. You don't know what I've done, you don't know what I'm capable of!" He exclaimed, his tears falling on the emerald rug and tinging patches darker green. "What are you taking about? What have you done?" She asked, pushing his silky, black hair out of his sticky, tear-soaked cheeks. Regulus shook his head to this question, the tears poured faster and Lauren felt just as confused as before she'd stared to ask questions. "You know you can tell me anything or if not me, Barty," Lauren soothed, awkwardly patting his arm. "Barty already knows," Regulus gasped,"he, he joined with me," "He joined what with you?" But Lauren already knew, somewhere inside her head she'd always known this was going to happen but she pushed the thoughts away. This was it. What she always knew was going to happen. "We, we joined the, the," He couldn't finish the sentence, what he'd done was out of fear, out of fear of his mother. Lauren already knew though, she felt her own eyes prickling with tears as she watched her best friend rocking back and forth. "Oh, Regulus," Lauren breathed, feeling a single clear, salty tear slide down her rose cheek. "Why would you?" "My mother, she, she sent me a letter, telling me to join and, and, Barty said he'd join, with me." Regulus choked, sobbing into the soft, oddly comforting rug underneath his trembling, tear-soaked body. "Funny thing is, most of us are from the Black family, maybe we're just evil," Regulus said, clutching his right forearm where he'd been branded with the mark. Lauren felt sick rising in the throat, the mark had been burned upon his once smooth skin, like cattle being branded with their owners mark. "Your family isn't evil, well maybe Bellatrix and your mother, but you're not evil. No one can be pure evil and certainly not a teenage boy," Lauren replied, putting a comforting arm around his shaking shoulders and hugging him tightly. "You wouldn't be saying that if you saw what I did today. We went around torturing muggles, putting the crucio curse on them. And do you know what the sickest part was?" Lauren shook her head, not trusting her voice to conceal the stranged sobs that wanted to escape her body so desperatly."We did it for our own amusment," he choked. Lauren tried not to see him as an evil death eater who tortured people for fun and for what he really was; a small scared child who was given no choice by his parents. "But that just shows how you're not like them! You didn't enjoy it when the others did, you're not like them Regulus and you never will be," She countered, her voice only just rising from a whisper. "I don't have a choice but to be like them! I am one of them! Don't you see? Bellatrix, Narcissa, I'm just like them!" Regulus exclaimed, his whole body was shaking like a leaf in a strong winter gust, his face was as pale as fluffy clouds but had a strange almost wax-like effect, his cool, grey eyes were filled with nothing but terror and he wouldn't meet her gaze. "Regulus Arcturus Black, you listen to me right now," Lauren demanded. His eyes shifted from the floor to her face but he still wouldn't meet her own eyes,"you are not like them. You're seventeen years old. You're not evil. You've been forced into becoming a death eater." Lauren had to force the words out, like they lasted sour and disgusting on her tongue,"None of this is your fault," "I tortured those muggles and mudbloods, no one else, me. I did it. Not Belltrix not Narcissa not Barty, me!" Regulus shouted, Lauren held his now icy gaze and felt tears trickling down her cheeks, which she left to drip. "You can pretend, you can kid yourself, you can succumb to the facade that's been hanging over yourself your whole life but it's not the truth!" Lauren shouted, matching his icy voice,"You are not a murderer, you are not evil but you are lying to yourself!" "WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSE TO DO, LAUREN? PLEASE, CAUSE I'D REALLY LOVE TO KNOW WHAT THE GOLDEN GIRL WOULD DO IN THIS SITUATION!" Regulus shouted. She felt the salty tears fall faster but she was determind to show him the truth, to show him that he was lying to himself and that he wasn't evil, just a confused teenager. "I DON'T KNOW, REGULUS! OKAY?! FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE I JUST DON'T KNOW! BUT I'M PRETTY SURE PUSHING AWAY THE ONLY PERSON WHOSE WILLING TO HELP YOU ISN'T A GOOD IDEA!" Lauren screamed back, shocking him with the fierceness and sadness that was breaking through in her normally level voice. His features soften and he returned back to the small, sobbing boy. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Regulus mumered as he went back to rocking,"I don't know either, I'm sorry," Tears soaked his cheeks once more and he hugged his legs into his chest,"You can't help me, no one can, I'm completely alone." "I can try. There must be something I can do." Lauren pleaded. "There's not. I'm a murderer and a death eater, I'm no good to anyone." "No, that's, that's not true," She sobbed, feeling her vision bluring slightly. She was trembling. "YES IT IS! THAT'S WHAT I AM. LOOK!" Regulus yanked up his crimson pajama sleve to reveal his right forearm. But the skin wasn't pale and smooth anymore, a black tatoo had been branded onto the skin, a skull with a snake weaving. The skin around the mark was still red where it had irritated the skin, more like burned on but Lauren couldn't face herself with that prospect, blood stained parts of the mark. "Do you see now?!" he demanded,"Do you see why no one can help?! This is what I am! The Dark Lord is my master and I am his servant. The Black family is evil and so am I," Even though Regulus had been keen to show the mark, Lauren noticed that he wouldn't look at his arm, even though he'd forced her to.  
"Look at it," Lauren breathed, pointing to his branded arm,"look at the mark," Regulus hesitated for a moment, he looked like he was about to but about an inch from where it was burned, his cool, grey eyes shot back up and he winced. "Why can't you look Regulus? I thought Death Eaters were suppose to be proud of their mark! It's the mark of your master!" Again, Regulus was about to make eye contact with the mark, when his eyes shot upwards, avioding the tatoo that was burned upon his skin. "LOOK AT IT!" Lauren screamed. "I, I can't," Regulus whispered, pulling his sleve back down to conceal it one again and hugging his knees to his chest. "Because you've not evil," Lauren prompted, a little ashamed of herself but happy that he understood, saw it how she saw it. "I will be, once the Death Eaters are finished with me. I can't be like Sirius," Lauren was shocked to hear Sirius' name come up, ever since Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin, a rift had developed between them, not improving when Sirius left home last year. He had only ever talked to her about it once, it was breif and not very imformative. "You can't tell him either," "What? Why not? He's your brother, he has a right to know!" "Promise me," There was something about his pleading voice that tugged at her emotions, it was almost like he was ashamed. "I promise," Lauren replied, a flicker of a smile crossing her face,"You wanna get some hot chocolate from the kitchens?" "I'd like that," Regulus told her. "We'll get through this, I promise," "Be careful, promises get broken. I learnt that the hard way," Lauren had no idea what he meant by these words and she didn't ask either, whatever it was it meant a lot to him.

The shattered debris slipped underneath her feet as she sprinted across the wreckage, bright spurts of green missing her head by mere milimeters. Her cheatnut hair flew out behind her as Lauren looked from left to right for signs of any survivors, the ones that had managed to live were battling furious death eaters and loosing. Badly. Wand drawn, Lauren sent a stunning spell to the death eater that was chasing her across the grey, gravel, it missed but she wasn't too bothered. A stream of indigo hit her back and she went tumbling to the floor, the gravel cutting her wrists as she fell. Cussing, Lauren jumped up as quick as she could, she felt slightly dizzy but it was do or die. Crimson liquid was pouring down her arms, tinging her navy jumper and drenching it with blood, there wasn't time to stop and fix them. Lauren continued to sprint, passing Frank Longbottom who she went to school with, Belltrix was winning, shooting crucio's at him. No time to help. A flash of green light filled the area and laughter rang out, an evil laughter, Death Eater laughter. Someone had been killed. This only urged Lauren on, she pushed on, her heart hammering againt her chest, pains stricking her sides, the minute she stopped or even slowed, would mean her death. Snapping her head back, she saw two black-hooded figures chasing her, two Death Eaters. Turning back around, she increased her speed, even though every part of her body objected. Shots of green light streamed past both sides of her head, her wand was drawn but she was too focused on survivng to use it. The smooth wood kept slipping down in her sweaty hand, she was clutching it so hard, Lauren was surprised it hadn't snapped under the pressure. A ribbon of electric blue wound around her legs and tripped her up once more, her chin scraped against the jagged rocks and a slit opened along her jaw line. Lauren pushed herself up, the rocks were covered in crimson liquid but she didn't have time to dwell on her injuries. Sprinting off once more, she shot another stunning spell over her shoulder and it hit one of the Death Eaters. No time to celebrate. Figures were falling to the hard ground all around, most of them were her age, dead before they even hit the ground, no teenagers should have to see this. The second Death Eater was lagging behind, shooting killing curses to victims all around, but the other one was determind to get her. Grimacing from the pain, Lauren ran towards the only part of the building that was still standing, the place where she wouldn't be exposed to every curse that was thrown but it was still miles away and her whole body ached from running. Her head started to spin as blood tailed behind her and covered her front, it was gushing out of her wounds faster than possible, Lauren increased her speed. A thought hit her as she sent another curse towards her persuer, she could die here, of course she realised that people died in wars and it was a possibilty but it all seemed much more real. What if she did? What if she died just like Nick had? What if she never returned to her family? What if she broke her promise to Sirius? What if she never returned to him? Shaking her head, Lauren pushed these thoughts to the back of her head and carried on. The dark mark lingered above her head in the stormy sky, it was as though the whole word mirrored how she felt. The grounds were gloomy, the sky was gloomy and the word was gradually becoming darker as night fell. Tears pricked her eyes as she watched Carlise fall at the hands of a hooded figure, she'd only met him a couple of times but he was a year younger than her, how was that fair? Pressing on, her wiped her eyes furiously and refused to look anywhere but straight on. A blood-curdling scream filled the grounds. A female scream. Torture. Malicious laughter greeted the scream, it was so painful, the girl must've been in agony, the screams continued as did the laughter, this all seemed too surreal. Lauren risked another look behind her, the hooded figures had caught up and were only feet away. They would catch up soon. Lauren stumbled to the ground as a curse hit her, the only thing that saved her was that the ground was sloped, so she tumbled over the sharp rocks and gravel. Cuts opened on her face and body, above her eyebrow was sliced open and blood gushed into her eye, her legs were cut in various places and her jeans turned crimson, she cheek sliced open on her bone and her hands gushed blood like a crimson waterfall. The pain was disguised by the adreniline that was coursing through her, it was telling her to get up, not to give in, to fight. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Lauren jumped up, her left eye still abscured by blood, and started running again, with all these new injuries she couldn't match her old pace but she was still pretty quick. Her body ached, she could barely see, her chest was hurting with every deep breath and her injuries stung like hell, she just wanted it all to stop. Sending another spell over her shoulder, Lauren was too desperate to know which one, she ran faster, trying to stop the flow of blood. Lauren didn't bother looking back to see if they were hit, she could tell by the crunching on the gravel that at least one had dodged her curse. A stone arch stood in front of her, it was completely alone as the building around it was knocked down, that's where she headed. The bricks were carved with intricate designs and patterns, mostly swirls, and the stones looked brighter than the dull grey of the debris, it was actually kind of beautiful. Sprinting through the arch, Lauren was spat out into a space even more open that before, everything around it had been knocked down. It was just a flat landscape of dull, grey rock. Lauren felt all the hope she'd mustered up leave her body, like squeezing the water out of a spongue, there was no use in fighting anymore. Everyone was dead. She was completly exposed. Death Eaters were closing in. Nick and her father were definetly dead. Any other member of her family could be dead. Voldemort was winning. But she wouldn't go out with a fight. Tilting her head higher, blood gushed faster but she didn't care, she held her drawn wand by her side, twisting it in her fingers, and prepared for death. A figure emerged out of the dust, she had heavy eyelids and wild, curly hair. A malcious smile was spread across her pale face and the black robe drowned her silm figured. Bellatrix. Did this mean that Frank was dead? Lauren pushed that thought to the back of her head and stood tall. Bellatrix's smile widened, her hair blew slightly in the cool breeze, sending the unruely curls in every direction. Lauren couldn't help but shiver at her appearence, she had the trademark stormy eyes and silky black hair, but she looked considerably more evil than anyone else in the Black family. "Oh dear, such a pretty child, such a shame," Bellatrix mused, her pale face alight with malice. Lauren scowled at the use of the word 'child', she was only a couple of years younger but then Bellatrix didn't look like a child, she was almost as evil as Voldemort himself. "Where's Voldemort, Bellatrix? I was hoping to meet the famous dark wizard before my," Lauren had to forced the word out,"death," Bellatrix flinced at the use of his name, her eye lids became heavier and darker and her smile droped slightly. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK HIS NAME! YOU FILTHY LITTLE BLOOD TRAITOR," Bellatrix screched, drawing her wand and pointing it at Lauren's heart, her evil smile back in place. "Touched a soft spot, did I?" She asked, flicking her chestnut hair over her shoulders, standing tall and walking a few steps closer. "Your death shall be slow and painful, Colt. I promise you that much," She spat, her cool, grey eyes blazing with hate. "You know my name?" Lauren asked, surprise hitting her voice. She stayed where she was, not moving, rooted with hate and surprise. "How could I not know the name of the girl who corrupted my cousin?" Bellatrix replied, her wand staying as still as a statue in her extended arm. Lauren felt her own arm willing itself to move, to get there first and curse her but she refrained. "I didn't corrupt anyone! Sirius didn't want anything to do with you corpse crunchers before I came along!" She defened, twirling her wand in her fingers. Apart from scowling at the other name she used for them, Bellatrix didn't seem to acknowledge anything that Lauren had said, her wand was still outsretched threaterningly and her evil smile was still stretched across her face. "No matter, I'll teach him for disobeying his duty to the Black name! I will rip you away from him and then he'll realise that he shouldn't of disgarded the Black family name like he did," She spat back, her smile growing slightly. "The pure blood concept means nothing to me or him. We don't have duties to Voldemort," again, she flinched,"You or our parents. Why would we want to become on of you? Killing innocent muggles, for what? For your own entertainment. It's sick," Lauren shot back, moving forwards, the debris crunching underfoot. Drawing her wand higher, Lauren pointed it directly at Bellatrix but the crunching sound wasn't just emitting from her, others were coming. She kept her teal eyes glued on the death eater, not bothering to see how many others were surronding her, it didn't matter. She was dead anyway. Inhale. Exhale. Clenching. Crunching. Eyes locking. Pointing. Inhale. Exhale. More crunching. Green light. Flashing. Screams. Laughter. Inhale. Exhale. Screams. Boys. Standing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Speech. "You'll pay for that!" Bellatrix screched, pointing her wand directly at Lauren's heart. Breathing. Thumping. Crunching. Inhale. Exhale. Screams. Shouts. Laughter. Cries. Crunching. Bracing. Inhale. Exhale. Seconds. Spells. Hexes. Crunching. Inhale. Cries. Laughter. In-  
"Crucio!" Bracing. Inhale. Exhale. No pain. Lauren locked eyes with Bellatrix, sparkling teal into cold, hard grey. No pain. A figure. Regulus. Regulus shoved Lauren aside, she fell against the jagged, grey rocks and more cuts opened, her head thumped, what happened. Then the screams. The agonising screams. Regulus's screams. He'd been hit by the crucio. Female voice. Bellatrix. Lauren pulled herself up, pains hitting every inch of her body, her teal eyes zoned in on Regulus, he was in the foetal position, agonised screams escaping his lips. Lauren rushed over to his side, she knelt down by his withering body, he tembled and jerked, he screamed but Bellatrix did nothing. Just stood there. And fury erupted inside Lauren. "HOW COULD YOU?! HE WAS YOUR COUSIN! YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD! HOW COULD YOU?!" Lauren shouted, salty tears falling down her blotchy cheeks. Bellatrix didn't even flinch, she just stood there, her heavy eyelids giving her face a bored expression. The screams stopped. Lauren spun around to see Regulus panting, his back pressed flat against the hard, grey gravel, his face ashen. She started to walk to his side when a curse hit her legs, Lauren fell to her sharp debris and winced. Bellatrix was grinning at her, actually grinning, almost laughing. This was it. "I thought you hated all death eaters? But no. It appears you like Regulus here, even though he tortured and killed as many filthy muggles and mudbloods as I have. And you're next," The hand she was holding her wand in was flat, her palm facing up towards the stormy sky, her wand barely staying in her grip, as if she was bored with this whole sceene. The macabre smile stretched further across her pale face but it didn't meet her heavy lided eyes, they stayed as cold and evil as ever. Lauren couldn't think, even though Regulus' screams had stopped they still rang around in her head, as clear as a bell. Lauren gripped her smooth wand tighter, she pointed it up towards Bellatrix and, before she could react, shouted "Stuplify!" Temporarily paralysed, Lauren rushed over to Regulus who was clamy and sweaty but alive. Alive. Definetly Alive. Brushing his silky, black hair away from his sticky forehead, Lauren examined him, apart from a few cuts and bruises he didn't look to bad. "Regulus?" Lauren whispered, looking straight into his sweat-drenched features and smiling as his eyes fluttered open. "Lauren," He greeted, his voice was hoarce and barely auidable but he was alive, that's all that was important. "You saved me," She replied, looking straight into his cool grey eyes and pale face. "I know, I can still feel the effects of that," Regulus gasped, smiling at her. "I'm sorry, does it, is there anything, I don't know, I'm not a healer!" Lauren flustered, checking his body over and looking completely lost. Regulus chuckled lightly and checked himself over, he grimaced as he proded an open cut but that was the only injury. "I think I'm good. A few cuts and scrapes but I should be okay," He told her, smiling. "Merlin, you scared me so much!" Lauren gasped, flinging herself over his body and hugging him tight. Regulus tried to hug back but he was drained of his energy and resulted to tapping her back lightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just, I needed to save you from that curse," He admitted, smiling. "Thank you. I don't understand though, you're a death eater. Why would you save me?" Lauren asked, leaning over his body to examine his injuires, even though she had no idea what she was doing. "Because you're like a sister to me, Lauren. You were there when no one else was, you always have been," Lauren smiled as these words sunk in, she'd always thought as him as another brother, though that wasn't saying much. "I love you as one, anyway," "Regulus, I-" A pair of strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her up, not Bellatrix, too strong. Another death eater pulled her away from where Regulus was sprawlled and held her in a tight head-lock but loose enough so she could still breath. Desperatly, Lauren clawed at the strong, muscly arm that held her in place, it was no use, he was too strong. Meanwhile, Bellatrix had recovered from the stunning spell and look furious. She marched over to where Lauren was being held, her wand in hand, and stopped when their faces were nearly touching. She looked even scarier from up close, Lauren thought as she stared into her cold, grey eyes. "Deary me, I will have to watch you. Fiesty aren't we?" Bellatrix mused, tilting Lauren's head with her wand, towards where Regulus was laying, Lauren couldn't think with one death eater nearly stangling her and one with their wand touching her chin. "Leave her alone!" Regulus demanded, sitting bolt upright and scowling at his cousin and the other robed figure. "Now, Now, young Regulus, turns out you are as much of a traitor as your brother. Pity." Before he could reply, Lauren's head was forced in the his direction by a strong, large hand and Bellatrix drew her wand. "Avada Kedavra!" An emerald flash of light filled the area they were in, Regulus' body went very still and fell back down to the hard, rocky ground. Dead. "No! No! Regulus! Regulus! Please! Regulus!" Lauren screamed, fighting against the irom grip,"Please! Regulus!" Her voice slowly died away, her teal eyes fixed to where he was sitting mere seconds ago, her heart thumping hard against her chest. Finding the last scraps of her voice, Lauren used them to scream. "NO!" Echoed through the deserted war ground, filling the eerie silence that had fallen over the debris. Everyone was dead. Regulus was dead. Lauren was going to die soon. Her sobbs were the only thing pure in this ground, only death eaters were left, she was the only one left, the only good one. She even stopped struggling against the death eater that was holding her, Lauren felt herself fall limp in his arms and she gave up. Bellatrix found this all very amusing, watching with her heavy eyelids and evil smirk, her still drawn and pointed at the place where he was. "YOU! YOU KILLED YOUR OWN COUSIN! HE HADN'T DONE ANYTHING! HOW COULD YOU?!" Lauren screamed, her eyes prickling with tears as she went on screaming at Bellatrix. The evil girl just smiled back like Lauren had said something funny, a smile that was made up of pure evil, a death smile. There was no point in anything anymore. It was over. It was all over. "He was a blood traitor, just like you, just like Sirius. He deserved death," Bellatrix spat, glancing over at her cousin's body and smiling. "HE DID NOTHING WRONG! REGULUS WAS INNOCENT BUT NO, YOU MURDERED HIM. YOU'RE SICK!" Lauren felt herself giving up towards the end of her words, what was the point? Sirius would loose two things that were important tonight, that much was inevitable. Regulus was dead. Nick and her father were dead. Her whole family could be dead. What was the point? "Greyback, I think our little friend needs to learn some maners, don't you?" Bellatrix strode up to Lauren, her wand tilting her head left and right as if she was examining Lauren, her eyes cold with fury and hate but amusment at the same time. The guy holding Lauren chuckled, a low, throaty chuckle, exposing his pointed, yellow teeth that dripped blood. Blood. Fenrir Greyback, werewolf. "You murdered Regulus," Lauren accused, her voice dangerously quiet and accusing. "Don't worry, deary," Bellatrix stroked the cut on top of Lauren's eyebrow with her wand and smiled as she winced in pain,"you'll be joining him soon enough." Inhale. Exhale. Pain. Wincing. Crunching. More figures. Laughter. Two more hooded figures appeared out of the rubble, definetly death eaters but one seemed to be cowering away, as if he heated all the death. "Ah, you two have arrived. I was just finishing off the last one, won't take a second," Bellatrix said, the malice in her voice unmistakable. "What happened to Regulus?" One of the figures asked. That voice. It was familair. The arrogance, the cockyness, the smirk. Malfoy. Lauren's teal eyes widened at the figured, Lucius Malfoy was a death eater, he was always cocky but evil? "Turns out he was a traitor just like his brother," Bellatrix replied, her eyes full of nothing but hate. Noticing how Lauren was eyeing the two death eaters, Bellatrix smiled evily again and that showed in her tone of voice,"I think we should show miss Colt here who you are, as one last surprised before her death," The two figures looked questioningly at her, both their heads tilted slightly but after she'd reassured them with her heavy lided stare, they obliged. "It's okay Malfoy, you can keep the hood on," Lauren choked out, narrowing her eyes at Bellatrix. "Oh, very clever, Colt. Shame the next one might shock you to death," Bellatrix laughed, her wild hair sending black curls everywhere. The two figures still un-hooded themselves, not worried that Lauren had identified one of them. Lower. Pale foreheads. Platinum hair. Brown hair? A smirk. A tembling smile. Stromy eyes. Dull brown eyes? Malfoy revealed himself first, smirking. Then. Then the other. And Bellatrix was right. Lauren did nearly die of shock. That simple, brown, hair. Dull brown eyes. Tembling smile. Mousy look. "Peter?" Lauren gasped, her forehead creasing in shock, her teal eyes wide. "Funny, they never expect the Gryffindor's," Fenrir teased, tightening his grip on Lauren. "Well, Colt, surprised?" Bellatrix teased, her heavylided expression looking amused again. Lauren didn't say anything, her eyes just darted from Peter to Malfoy to Bellatrix, nothing could've of prepared her for this. The heavylided woman sighed. "You know, it's very rude not to answer peoples questions," Bellatrix said. "Anyway, Fenrir, let her go," The werewolf looked shocked for a moment but soon realised she must have a plan and dropped, literally dropped, Lauren. She tumbled to the floor, her old cuts reopening and new ones forming, and groaned as sharp rocks proded her tired body. Why couldn't this end? "Everyone go," She ordered, flicking a few curls over her shoulder,"Relax, she's not exactly in a fit state," The three boys exchanged worried glances, they didn't look completly sure about leaving them alone. "Just go round up the rest!" The three boys started to walk back across the gravel, it crunched with their steps but eventually they disappeared. "Now, what to do?" Bellatrix mused before yanking Lauren up from the ground, she was surprisingly strong for her size, and examined her. Her stormy eyes filled with fury and hate at the sight of her but Lauren didn't move, she didn't even flinch. "Just get it over with, Bellatrix," Lauren choked, struggling to stay standing up. "Sirius is going to miss you, maybe even Regulus, he'll morn for you and I'll enjoy watching every agonising second that passes for him because I'll know that I was what caused it," She told her, pointing her wand at Lauren's chest and smirking. Lauren just stood there, her mind flooding with the thoughts and memories of Sirius, of what was and what could've been. At least she'd be with Regulus, if heaven or whatever existed, or maybe she'd have to be alone. "Just do it," Inhale. Exhale. Laughter. An evil smile. Inhale. Exhale. Laughter. 'I love you Sirius,' Lauren whispered. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Flash. Emerald. Laughter. Pain. Evil smile. Inhale. Thump. Crunching. Silence. Death.

SIRIUS' P.O.V.

I walked through the dingy, cold dungeons. heading to my very first potions lesson. My friends close behind, I kept my nerves and worry bottled up inside, I didn't want to break my 'cool' facade. "Why so serious?" James teased, sprinting to catch up and ruffling his unruely, ebony hair, an annoying habit he'd picked up. "'Coz it's my name," I replied, a smirk growing on my face. "Come on! We don't want to be late for our first potions lesson!" Remus urged, his tawny hair flopping into his gold-flecked eyes as he hurried his pace. Relax, Remus, I already know the teacher, we won't give us a detention," James sighed, rolling his hazel eyes. "I still can't believe we're with the Slytherin's," I said, quickining my pace to catch up with Remus and a reluctant James. "What's the bet they're all evil? I reckon their family has already taugh them the unforgiveables," James asked, grabbing for the cool, brass handle on the potions door. "Guys, don't be steriotypical, not all Slytherin's are evil," Remus cautioned, skirting ahead of James and bursting into the room. "How nice for you to join us," Professor Greyson joked, he was a tall-broad shouldered man with crimson robes drowning him like blood. His cropped, mousy hair had prominent streaks of grey on the top and, even though he was meant to be mad, his face wore a friendly smile, the corners of his mouth and eyes crinkling. "Sorry, sir, we got lost," James lied, adjusting his circular, wired glasses and ruffling his hair, again. "Hmm. Since you're first years I'll let you off but don't make a habit of it," Professor Greyson warned, staring down at them with his warm, brown eyes. We nodded, Peter never really spoke, and joined the rest of the first years, who were waiting at the front of the class to be set seats. From the start, it was clear who were Gryffindor's and who were Slytherin's, apart from the difference in their uniform, Slytherin's wore emerald and silver ties and Gryffindor wore ruby and yellow, they were standing on oppsite sides of the class room. A few students were already sat at wooden desks, either watching their friends getting set places or organising their things. A girl caught my eye, she had shoulder length chestnut hair, it flicked out slightly but it shone under the warm glow of the candles but it was her eyes that stuck me most, they were teal blue but there was something different about them. Even though they were blue, they twinkled like diamonds the moment any light caught them, reminding me of stars in the night sky, I thought she was pretty and I secretly hoped that I would be seated next to her. Then I saw her uniform. Slytherin. She didn't look particuarly malicious or cruel but I hadn't even spoken to her yet? How was I suppose to know what she was like? It was a strange feeling, like something inside me knew, knew that she wasn't like other Slytherin's but I dismissed that thought, she was probably just acting innocent for the teachers and I didn't fancy getting hexed in the corridors. The sound of the metal stools scraping along the floor filled the air as students were told where to sit and took their places, it was mostly boy-girl and that feeling came back, the hope that I'd be sat next to her, so I could at least learn her name. James was seated next to a pretty girl with startling emerald eyes and blood-red hair, she didn't seem to happy about that but at least she was in Gryffindor, right? Peter wasn't quite so lucky, he was sat next to a girl with emerald eyes, that matched her tie, and cropped, black hair, she didn't look very pleasant, not one bit. Remus was seated next to a small Slytherin girl, her huge, chocolate eyes emitted nothing but warmth and her black hair was tightly curled. My turn. I took a breath. More breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Please. Let me be seated next to her. What? No, shut up. Not her. She's a Slytherin. Slytherin. I'm a Gryffindor. She's evil. And pretty. No! Stupid brain. Just evil. Sort of pretty. Well, very. And sure enough. I strode over to where she was sitting, she barely lifted her teal eyes, Merlin those eyes, no, shut up, and I took my seat, not speaking, just looking. Her chestnut hair fell down her back like a sheet of silk, I had no words to describe her eyes, I kept trying to tell myself not to notice but they were too bright, too pretty. "Psssss. Padfoot!" James hissed, he was a few desks away, the red-haired girl glowered at him but said nothing, I turned around. "What, prongs?" I asked, trying not to let the pretty girl penetrate my thoughts. James. James. James. He said nothing but pointed to the girl next to him with his hazel eyes and made a gagging face. "At least you're not next to a Slytherin," I replied, pulling my eyebrows together. Then I heard it. A mumble. Barely audiable. She spoke. "Sorry, what?" I asked, turning back around and coming face to face with the girl, okay, bit of an exageration but we were facing each other. "I have a name, you know," She snapped, her eyes narrowing slightly but still looking just as beautiful, shut up. "Which is?" I asked, a smirk creeping up my pale lips. Her expression softened, making her appear friendly and kind. "Lauren," She replied, smiling warmly,"You?" I felt my own mouth pulling up, I wasn't exactly sure what had caused me to smile but I couldn't stop. "Sirius," I answered, preparing myself for the jokes and taunts that would come. But they didn't. Instead her fair eyebrows dripped together. "Serious?" Lauren asked, her tead tilting to the right. "Yes, Sirius," I replied, watching amused as this sunk in. "Wait. What?" She asked again, looking more confused than ever. "I'm Sirius," "So am I?" Lauren commented, her voice drifting towards the end of her sentence. "No," I sighed,"I'll show you," Without thinking, I grabbed her parchment that was set out on the desk, got my quill an wrote 'Sirius' in tall, slanted writing, it wasn't the neatest writing in the world, the end of the 'S' crossed over the other letters and the dots on the 'i's were more like accents. I slid the creamy sheet across the wooden desk and watched as her teal eyes danced across the page. Merlin, she was pretty. No, shut up. She studied the page for a while, her eyebrows dipped slightly as if she was deciding and I prepared myself for the jokes. No jokes, no nothing, just the biggest surprise in my whole effing life. "That's a star, you know?" Lauren asked, smiling and handing me the parchment back. Stupidly, I just stared at her, not taking the parchment, not doing anything, just staring into her twinkling teal eyes, my cheeks warming. "Oh, er, yeah, I know," I stumbled, snapping back to reality and taking the parchment, trying to cool my hot cheeks. This just made her smile broaden and my cheeks flush more. "I, er, I think we got off on the wrong foot, we could start again?"  
"Hmm. Okay, I'm Lauren and you?" She asked, her eyes huge and expectant. "I'm Sirius," I replied, feeling some of the warmth drain from my cheeks. "Nice to meet you. Sirius is a star, you know?" Lauren replied, laughing lightly. "Well, that's new," I commented, startled that she didn't make it into some huge joke. "What do you mean?" Lauren asked, frowning. "I normally just get asked if my middle name is Lee," I shrugged, smiling. "Please give me more credit than that," She laughed lightly again, her laughter sounded like a bell chiming. "So, which noble house do you belong to?" I asked, feeling considerably more confortable around her. "The noble house of Colt," Lauren answered, rolling her eyes,"You?" "The noble house of Black," I told her, laughing at the stupid name. "How come you're not in Slytherin then, I thought nearly all pure bloods were," Lauren replied. "I don't know, my parents wanted me to be but I was sorted into Gryffindor," I sighed,"You don't seem like a normal Slytherin," "What because I'm not insulting you or hexing you right now? Because I haven't practised an unforgiveable this morning?" Her teal eyes trained on me and I felt my mouth open and the truth came pouring out. "I kinda just thought that that's how it was, I didn't mean to be steriotypical or anything," I told her, smiling shyly. "No, I understand. It's the perspective most people take," I just nodded, Merlin, her eyes, those teal eyes, shining like diamonds, I just hoped she didn't ask me anything else otherwise I could tell her anything and everything. Why was she effecting me this way? Normally I could speak, I wouldn't stutter or blush, I would just be me, cool and confident. But Lauren, her hair, those eyes, her personality, she was kind, who else knew a kind Slytherin. A burning desire hit my stomach like I'd been winded, she had no idea how pretty she really was. I forgot that I was staring, proper staring, admiring her face, eyes, hair and body from every angle and she was looking back. Crap. Merlin. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Merlin. Crap. Averting my cool, grey eyes to the front, I tried to cool the blush that was slowly climbing up my cheeks. "You don't like all this pure blood shit, do you?" I asked, my voice was shaky and jagged, like I'd just been running. But she heard. Lauren even flinched a little as I swore but she didn't say anything, her face broke into a huge smile and her eyes could've been mistaken for the most expensive diamonds ever, had they not been blue. "No, I really don't get it to be honest with you," She shrugged, trying her best not to laugh. "Then why on earth are you in Slytherin?" I replied. "I really have no idea, maybe I'm just sarcastic and cunning?" Lauren asked, smirking. "Are you mocking me?" I asked, her smirk looked exactly the same as mine. "Wouldn't dream of it," She said, flicking her silky hair over her shoulders. I couldn't help myself, a low, silky chuckled escaped my mouth and soon a chiming laughter had merged with it. The lesson droaned on but neither Lauren nor myself were paying attention, she laughed, joked, laughed some more and tallked about everything, school, blood status, friends, family, everything. In those fifty minutes, that felt like a lifetime, I'd never felt closer to anyone, not even James. Which was weird since I'd just met this girl, she looked familiar though, a fuzzy memory of a huge manor came into my mind, a tall boy with rich, black hair and chocolate eyes came into view but it disappeared as quickly as it came, my imagination right? The tinkling of the bell snapped me out of my dream-like state and back into reality. Shoving everything back into my bad, I slung it over my shoulder and walked to join my friends, who were waiting by the door. "Who were you sitting next to, James?" Remus asked, pushing his floppy hair out of his honey eyes. "Lily, she's really pretty, don't you guys think? The way her crimson hair flows like a blood waterful, her green eyes mirror emeralds," he sighed,"she's very pretty." "And she hates you," I injected, noticing the glowering look she was sending him. "Now but she won't when she realises how great I am," He smirked, ruffling his hair, once again. "What about you Sirius?" Remus asked me, ignoring the glassy look that was creeping over James eyes. "Just some Slytherin girl," I shrugged,"no one important," That was the biggest lie I ever told, Lauren was the most important thing at that moment, I didn't know why, I had no idea how but I felt like I knew her more than Remus or even James. Okay, I lied, I didn't tell my friends I had a massive crush on my potions partner, but a little white lie never hurt anyone, right? I even tried lying to myself but that failed miserably. I longed for every potions lesson, I always sat next to her, we talked about nothing important, talk is talk but it's how you say it and I knew, if she opened her eyes, metaphorically, then she would see just how much I care. I tried to hide my feelings by dating every girl in my year, except Slytherin's of course and Ravenclaw's, last thing I needed was a girlfriend who lectured me on my homework, Lauren didn't even see me as anything else, just a friend. We became best friends but I lied. I lied to her. To James. To Remus. To my family. To those girls. To myself. I convinced myself I didn't like her that way, the truth was apparent. I was in love with Lauren Colt. Nothing else to say. Funny, my life was full of facades. Fourth year dawned, I admired in secret, watch her from my table, talked to her in lessons. But fourth year was when it all changed.

THE END 


End file.
